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January 31, 2007

Candidate: count me out

By Marcella Bombardieri and Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff

Nobel laureate Thomas R. Cech, a leading contender for the presidency of Harvard University, unexpectedly withdrew from consideration Wednesday, sending a wave of uncertainty about the search across campus.

Until Wednesday, Cech and Drew Gilpin Faust, the dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, were the top finalists, a person knowledgeable about the search committee’s deliberations said. The search was expected to end as early as this weekend, but Cech’s announcement could delay a decision.

Cech told the search committee of his decision Wednesday morning, he said in an interview. He said he is not ready to give up his commitments to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, where he is president, or the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he maintains a biochemistry lab.

"I already have a great job at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a commitment to its work promoting biomedical research and education throughout the country and the world," he said by phone from Colorado.

He refused to discuss details about the search.

The source said Wednesday morning that neither Faust nor Cech had been offered the job.

Two other inside candidates, provost Steven E. Hyman and law school dean Elena Kagan, remain in contention, the source said. Cech’s decision may slow the process, as the committee reconsiders its options, or it could speed it up, if the members simply agree to tap Faust, the person added.

A spokesman for Harvard declined to comment Wednesday.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

Artist arrested for planting marketing figures

By Maria Cramer and Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff

The man who sent city and State Police rushing to defuse what they believed were explosive devices around the Boston region was arrested tonight.

Attorney General Martha Coakley scheduled a 9 p.m. press conference to announce the arrrest of Peter Berdovsky, an Arlington artist.

On his personal website, he posted pictures of a small group installing the figures -- little square-shaped men frowning and making an obscene gesture -- on the exterior wall of a hospital, on the awning of a Cambridge bar, at an Urban Outfitters, and a bridge.

On another website, he describes himself as adroit at painting, animation, video and sound design, sculpting and installation art.

Berdvosky's lengthy resume boasts a 2005 bachelor's degree "completed with distinction" at the Massachusetts College of Arts, his second place finish at the 2004 Massachusetts College of Art All School Show, and a merit scholarship he received from MassArt in 2000.

On his website, he also lists several authors who have inspired him, including Douglas Adams and Leo Tolstoy, and included passages that moved him. One sentence from Tolstoy's "Confession" was underlined:

"It became clear to me that art is an ornamentation of life, something that lures us into life. But life had lost its charm for me so how was I to charm others?"

Posted by srhee at 8:16 PM | Comments (0)

Locations of suspicious device scares

Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said at a press conference that police responded to following nine locations today for reports of suspicions devices. Late this afternoon, Turner Broadcasting acknowledged that the objects were part of an outdoor marketing campaign. There may be many more of the devices throughout the metropolitan area.

Boston

Sullivan Square

BU Bridge

Stuart Street and Columbus Avenue

Longfellow Bridge

New England Medical Center

Harvard Avenue in Brighton

Washington and Water streets

Somerville

Near McGrath Highway

Cambridge

Memorial Drive and Massachusetts Avenue

Posted by aryan at 6:24 PM | Comments (0)

Suspicious packages part of Turner Broadcasting marketing campaign

By Mac Daniel, John Ellement, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Turner Broadcasting acknowledged late this afternoon that the suspicious objects that ignited fears of bombs across Boston today were magnetic lights that were part of an outdoor marketing campaign for an adult cartoon.

Turner was promoting Adult Swim's animated television show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" in Boston and nine other cities, according to a statement e-mailed by Shirley Powell, a company spokeswoman.

"Parent company Turner Broadcasting is in contact with local and federal law enforcement on the exact locations of the billboards," the e-mail statement said. "We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger."

Governor Deval Patrick said in a statement that he was "deeply dismayed" by the "stunt."

"I understand that Turner Broadcasting has purported to apologize for this," Patrick said. "I intend nonetheless to consult with the Attorney General and other advisors about what recourse we may have."

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino also blasted the company.

"I am prepared to take any and all legal action against Turner Broadcasting and its affiliates for any and all expenses incurred during the response to today's incidents," Menino said in a statement. "Boston will look to coordinate our efforts going forward with Cambridge, Somerville and any other affected agencies."

"Aqua Teen Hunger Force" airs late at night and involves animated characters that are depicted as fast food products, including a ball of ground meat, French fries, and a milk shake.

The objects that had been placed on bridges and other infrastructure across the city are patterns of lighted dots in the shape of boxy characters on the cartoon show. The flashing lights are on black rectangles a little larger than laptops.

The boxy characters are named Err and Ignignokt and appear to be raising their middle fingers and giving obscene gestures. Err is described on the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" website as "rebellious and angry."

Crews are in the process of removing the devices from overpasses and other locations throughout the city. Turner Broadcasting's statement said the objects had been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

Today's chaos began at 8:05 a.m. when an MBTA passenger noticed what was described as an object with wires and tubes stuck on a steel support girder underneath Interstate 93 about 12 to 15 feet above the bus depot at Sullivan Square Station in Charlestown.

Transit police Lieutenant Salvatore Venturelli said this morning that the object had some components consistent with an improvised explosive device such as an electronic circuit board, but he made it clear it was not a bomb.

At about 1 p.m., Boston police received reports of similar devices throughout the metropolitan area at locations that included the Longfellow and BU bridges and New England Medical Center.

Shortly after 4 p.m., as city and state officials held a press conference to try to quell fears, Turner Broadcasting issued a statement taking responsibility for the stunt.

Eight of the electronic devices were mistaken for bombs today in Boston and two other sparked fears in Somerville and Cambridge, according to Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis.

Angela Shaw of Boston.com contributed to this report.

Posted by aryan at 4:53 PM | Comments (0)

Suspicious objects found throughout Boston after morning bomb scare

By John R. Ellement, Mac Daniel, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The discovery of suspicious objects on bridges, near a medical center, underneath an interstate, and in other crowded public places has ignited fears across Boston, snarling traffic and sending state and local police scrambling across the city.

None of the suspicious objects have been determined to be bombs. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were connected or part of some elaborate hoax.

A law enforcement source who has been briefed on the investigation said officials have found "commonality" among some, but not all, of the objects recovered by Boston, state and transit police throughout the day.

None of the objects examined by police contained explosives, the source said.

Governor Deval Patrick told the Associated Press: "It's a hoax -- and it's not funny."

Investigators have found that at least two of the packages that were similar -- both were composed of electronic circuit boards with LED lights attached. No one has called to claim responsibility for any of the items, the law enforcement source said.

The source said it appears the object scrutinized by State Police on the Longfellow Bridge may not be connected to the objects that were found with electronic equipment. The item on the Longfellow Bridge may have been left behind some time ago by a bridge maintenance crew.

The Coast Guard has closed the Charles River to all water traffic from the Museum of Science to the locks where the river flows into Boston Harbor because of the reports of bombs on several bridges, according to Chief Petty Officer Scott Carr.

This afternoon, investigators found a device on the BU Bridge today "similar to the Sullivan Square" package that forced the closure this morning of northbound Interstate 93, said Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for state fire marshal Stephen Coan, whose office oversees the State police Bomb Squad.

Like the item found at the Sullivan Square station, the BU package was attached to the underpinnings of the bridge.

"It was not an explosive device," she said of the suspicious item found on the BU Bridge.

State police bomb experts examined another suspicious item -- similar in construction to the items found at Sullivan Station and on the BU Bridge -- that was found attached to the Longfellow Bridge, which spans the Charles River from Boston to Cambridge.

Boston police are separately investigating suspicious items at Columbus and Stuart streets and near the New England Medical Center.
Storrow drive was closed at 2 p.m., according to State Police. Thirty minutes later police opened one eastbound lane to traffic.

According to Boston police, traffic from Charles Street is being blocked from entering Storrow Drive while several law enforcement agencies investigate more suspicious objects.

The MBTA suspended service on the Red Line for about 15 minutes between Park and Kendall stations. By 2:35 p.m., the T resumed service on the line.

Posted by aryan at 4:10 PM | Comments (0)

Boston firefighter charged with wrong-way DUI on I-495

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

State Police charged a Boston firefighter with drunken driving early this morning after they accused Matthew McCaffrey of driving a pickup truck the wrong way on northbound Interstate 495, hitting two cars, and forcing the roadway to close for almost three hours.

The driver of a 2006 Hyundai Sedan who police said McCaffrey hit head-on was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries. State police did not release his name because his family had not been notified about the crash.

McCaffrey is assigned to Engine 41 in Allston, according to Stephen MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department. McCaffrey has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the criminal charges against him, MacDonald said.

Police charged McCaffrey, 29, of West Roxbury, with a host of infractions, including operating under the influence of alcohol and causing serious injuries. He was taken to Milford Hospital, treated for minor injuries, and released into the custody of State Police. He was arraigned today in Wrentham District Court.

According to a State Police press release, McCaffrey was driving the 2002 Chevrolet Pickup truck at about 3 a.m. near Exit 15 in Wrentham. McCaffrey, police allege, was driving south in the northbound lanes when he rammed the Hyundai and then hit a 2006 Chevrolet Sedan.

The driver of the Chevrolet Sedan, Kimba Ngoy, 43, of Milford, was also taken to Milford Hospital with minor injuries.

Northbound I-495 remained closed until about 6 a.m., police said.

McCaffrey was also charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation, operating to endanger, wrong-way operation, and speeding. The crash remains under investigation.

Posted by aryan at 2:36 PM | Comments (0)

Woburn mourns paratrooper killed in Iraq

By Megan Tench, Globe Staff

WOBURN -- Family and friends gathered today for a memorial Mass for a paratrooper killed in Iraq, the first Woburn native killed in combat since the Vietnam War.

Governor Deval Patrick, attending his first service for an Iraq casualty since taking office this month, hugged relatives of Keith A. Callahan after the 90-minute Mass and also comforted them beforehand. Patrick did not speak during the service and did not speak to reporters afterwards.

Callahan, 31, a sergeant first class in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and a father of four, was killed south of Baghdad this month during his fourth deployment to Iraq. He was guarding a road crossing to provide security for his platoon when an improvised explosive device exploded.

Callahan graduated from Woburn Memorial High School in 1993. A stocky former boxer, his nickname was "Bam-Bam."

His uncle, Richard Haverty, offered his own remembrances of Callahan, then choked up while reading aloud a letter sent by his nephew's company after his death. The letter described the nightmare of the day, and also praised Callahan's training of fellow soldiers. "They were able to push through and survive," Haverty read.

Posted by srhee at 1:00 PM | Comments (0)

Harp seal shot in head, found dead on Cape

(New England Aquarium)

An X-ray of the harp seal's head shows pellets from a shotgun blast.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Federal marine authorities are investigating the death of a yearling seal on Cape Cod that had been shot in the head.

The body of the 55-pound harp seal was found dead last weekend in Sandwich but likely did not die from the shotgun blast, according to Tony LaCasse, a spokesman for the New England Aquarium. The pellets from the shotgun shell did not penetrate the animal's skull, but may have contributed to an infection the seal was already fighting.

"At the very least we have a pretty heinous act on the part of somebody shooting him," LaCasse said.

Dr. Scott Weber, the head veterinarian at the aquarium, is scheduled to discuss the results of a necropsy on the animal later this afternoon. Officials are still waiting on test results to determine what may have caused the death of the sea mammal.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act makes it a crime to shoot or kill a seal. Law enforcement officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are actively searching for the culprit.

While harbor seals and gray seals are native to Massachusetts, every winter juvenile harp seals migrate south from the Maritime provinces in Canada.

This particular seal had been handled and photographed by marine officials several weeks ago when it appeared on a boat ramp in Plymouth, LaCasse said.

(New England Aquarium)

The same harp seal was photographed a few weeks before its death on a boat landing in Plymouth.

Posted by aryan at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

Leading candidate bows out of contention for Harvard presidency

(AP Photo/Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Paul Fetters)

Thomas R. Cech, shown above in a 2005 photo, said today he did not want to give up his commitments to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to become president of Harvard University.

By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff

One of the leading contenders for the presidency of Harvard University, Thomas R. Cech, said today that he has withdrawn from consideration.

Cech, in a telephone interview with the Globe, said he is not ready to give up his commitments to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, where he is president, or the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he maintains a biochemistry lab.

"I already have a great job at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a commitment to its work promoting biomedical research and education through the country and the world," he said from Colorado.

Hughes is the second biggest philanthropy in the United States and supports some of the nation's top scientists.

Cech notified Harvard's search committee this morning, he said.

The Globe reported Saturday that Cech was one of the final candidates in the search, which could end as early as this weekend or as late as next month. The Globe also reported that the leading inside candidate appeared to be Drew Gilpin Faust, according to sources familiar with the search.

Posted by aryan at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)

Bomb squad removes suspicious object that closed I-93 north

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A bomb squad used a small explosive filled with water to neutralize a suspicious object in Charlestown that forced the shutdown of northbound Interstate 93 and closed the Sullivan Square T station.

A crowd of onlookers gasped as the small explosion echoed through the transportation complex just after 10 a.m. Witnesses had described a package with wires and tubes protruding out of it stuck on a steel support girder underneath the interstate about 12 to 15 feet above the bus depot, said MBTA spokesman Joseph Pesaturo.

"It was nerve racking," said Robert A. Ellington, 29, who ran to Sullivan Square to investigate when he heard whirl of television news helicopters. "It’s scary, but exciting though."

Transit police Lieutenant Salvatore Venturelli said that a passenger had noticed the object at 8:05 a.m. and alerted authorities. The object did have some components consistent with an improvised explosive device including an electronic circuit board, but it was not a bomb, Venturelli said.

Investigators do not know how the object got onto the girder and were trying to determine if it was a hoax or something else entirely, said Venturelli, who decline to describe the object in detail because of the ongoing investigation.

"It's not consistent with equipment that would be there normally," Venturelli said.

Northbound I-93 reopened to traffic at about 10:05 a.m. after being closed for almost an hour, said State Police Sergeant Robert Bousquet.
The package was underneath a ramp heading from Sullivan Square to northbound I-93.

The Orange Line is also running again. Bus service continued to Sullivan Square through much of the incident as MBTA officials rapidly moved people between shuttle buses coming in from Orange Line stations.

An army of emergency vehicles responded to the scene with lights flashing, including police cruisers, fire trucks, ambulances, and the Boston Police Department bomb squad.

Police inspected the package using a truck-mounted work platform. Transit police officer Joseph Mathews from the explosive detection unit donned the thick green armor of the bomb squad an approached the object.

Matthews attached cables to the device and officials later fired the small water explosive to render the object safe.

Michael Duran, a senior at Charlestown High School, was late to class because of the investigation, but he said he had already called in to alert his teachers. Duran said the school administrator was skeptical and suggested that the 18-year-old senior had simply overslept.

"She thought that," Duran said of the school administrator he spoke to today, "but I told her there was a bomb or something and that I saw a whole lot of state police around."

Duran said he was able to convince the administrator that he was telling the truth. He said it usually takes no more than 13 minutes once he arrives at Sullivan Square to get on the number 93 bus, which takes him to school. Duran waited for at least 45 minutes today in the subfreezing cold.

Posted by aryan at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2007

Off-shore LNG port approved

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

The US Maritime Administration approved a liquefied natural gas port 13 miles off Gloucester Tuesday, one of two offshore LNG ports proposed in the last two years to help feed New England's growing energy demand.

The Neptune project, proposed by the same parent company that owns New England's only existing LNG terminal, in Everett, "will fill a vital role in meeting our national energy requirements for many years to come," said Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton in his record of decision.

The approval was expected. Northeast Gateway, a similar project 7 miles off Gloucester, is expected to receive a decision in the next few weeks. At both sites, tankers would dock around the clock at underwater buoys to turn supercooled liquid back into a gas and pump it through pipes to New England homes and businesses. Neptune expects to be operational by 2009.

Former governor Mitt Romney signed off on both projects in December. While fishermen do not like the proposed ports because a security zone around the ports will exclude them from prime fishing grounds and others are worried about potential harm to federally endangered right whales, the projects have largely been seen as the lesser of two evils.

By agreeing to offshore plant sites, politicians hope to prevent terminals from being built near people, who could be in danger if there were a terrorist attack or catastrophic accident.

Although some residents near the Everett terminal hoped the offshore plants would mean fewer tankers passing through Boston Harbor, Neptune's developers reiterated Tuesday it would add to that supply --not replace it.

"We are extremely encouraged by the Maritime Administration's decision and look forward to having Neptune supplement our onshore LNG import terminal in Everett," to meet the growing demand for natural gas from consumers in the region, said Zin Smati, president and CEO chief executive of SUEZ Energy North America, the parent company of Neptune and the Everett facility.

Even though the Northeast Gateway project was in line to be approved first, Connaughton said his agency made Neptune a priority in part because SUEZ agreed that US mariners would make up 25 percent of the crew on Neptune's fleet of vessels by 2012 and 10 percent of crew on other vessels they charter.

Daley can be reached at bdaley@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:08 PM | Comments (0)

Coakley: Slots, casinos not worth gamble

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff

The expansion of gambling in the Commonwealth would bring with it a risk of organized crime, creating a potentially expensive state law enforcement obligation that could eat into any new state revenue from slot machines and casinos, Attorney General Martha Coakley has warned.

The new attorney general, speaking to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, said she does not have a position on gambling, but she cautioned state officials to tread carefully as they consider a "very seductive" way to bring in new revenue.

"It’s a cash business ... it’s going to be subject to infiltration by -- and I use the term ‘organized crime’ very loosely -- some sort of money laundering, organized crime costs," she said. "I understand the attractiveness of it, but be very careful, I think, before we do it."

With her comments, Coakley injected concern about crime into a debate that has recently focused on whether the promise of jobs and revenue is worth the potential human costs, such as gambling addiction.

Coakley said she has not discussed the subject with Governor Deval Patrick, who said Monday that he plans to carefully consider the expansion of gambling, perhaps with the help of a study group. The attorney general said Tuesday that she and her staff plan to discuss the issue with Patrick soon.

"I have no moral compunction against it," she told reporters. "I just think that people always see it as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And I’m here to say, as someone who’s been a prosecutor ... the pot doesn’t have as much gold in it as people think."

State Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein, a Democrat from Revere who has filed legislation that would put state-owned slot machines at the state’s four racetracks, called Coakley’s "blanket statement" about organized unfounded.

"There are strict regulations in my bill," she said. "The machines are owned and operated by the state, and there’s even an audit system. I respect the attorney general very much, but I think if we pass something like my bill, that’s highly unlikely to happen."

Coakley also said Tuesday that she wants to take on controversial stem cell regulations issued by the Romney administration last year.

"Stem cell research and other biotechnical initiatives should be encouraged and not discouraged by regulations promulgated that contradict the spirit of recent, progressive legislation," Coakley said.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:56 PM | Comments (0)

Feds: eels are living long and prospering

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

The federal government has declared that eels are not an endangered species, rebuffing a two-year quest by a janitor-cum-conservationist from Middleborough to prove that the slimy creatures are on a fast path to extinction.

Timothy A. Watts, 46, petitioned the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2004 to give eels federal protection, which would have forced states and companies that use waterways to take dramatic measures to protect freshwater eels.

But after a review of eel populations from Greenland to Brazil, the agency said Tuesday that "while the eel population has declined in some areas, the species’ overall population is not in danger of extinction or likely to become so in the foreseeable future."

Watts called the ruling "unfortunate for the eel" and said he would contemplate legal action to force the agency’s hand. He said that the eel gets a bad rap, with more attention and care focused on warmer, fuzzier creatures.

"There’s no more amazing critter than the eel," he said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "It’s certainly not a glamorous species. It’s one of those funny animals that we take for granted."

Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:53 PM | Comments (0)

That white stuff falling later tonight is called 'snow'

By Michael Naughton, Globe Correspondent

Get the shovels out of the garage. Slip the snow tires on the car. And get ready for a long ride to work.

By tomorrow morning, there may be two to three inches of snow on the ground in Boston and up to six inches on the Cape and Islands. The blanket of white stuff could shock the city, where only 1.8 inches of snow has fallen this winter -- 20.6 inches below normal.

The snow should start falling at 11 p.m. in the western suburbs and is forecast to envelop Boston and the southeastern part of the state by midnight, according to the National Weather Service.

"We do expect it to be snowing for the morning commute, so those in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island should allow extra time tomorrow," said Kim Buttrick, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

The weather system is moving in from northern Pennsylvania and Long Island. It will be followed by another winter storm system that could bring more snow Thursday night and into Friday.

Posted by aryan at 6:04 PM | Comments (0)

Smoking ban may have saved drowning man on Vineyard

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and Amanda I Bergeron, Globe Correspondent

Smoking may have actually saved someone's life who was drowning in icy water on Martha's Vineyard.

Leonard Fogg slipped and fell into Edgartown Harbor Sunday afternoon and told police he was screaming for up to 15 minutes before being saved by a man who had stepped outside the Wharf Pub for a quick cigarette.

"If we didn't have the smoking ban, that guy would be dead," said Edgartown police Detective Craig Edwards today in a telephone interview.

Edgartown, like the rest of Massachusetts, doesn't allow smoking inside bars and restaurants. That law has made Peter T. Robb a fixture outside the Wharf Pub, where he can often be seen smoking a cigarette while reading the sports section of a newspaper.

On Sunday afternoon, Robb was outside at his post with a cigarette and the sports pages when he heard the furious barks of a dog, according to an Edgartown police report. Robb listened closer and heard what he thought was the screams of a man coming from dock near the Junior Yacht Club.

Robb ran to the shore and discovered Fogg, who had been looking at a boat for sale when he slipped off the dock, hit his head, and fell into the frigid water. Fogg’s dog, a Bouvier des Flanders named Maui, continued to bark at the shore.

Robb threw off his jacket and pulled Fogg out of the water, according the report. He covered Fogg with his jacket and ran back to the pub to call 911.

Instead of waiting for an ambulance, Robb organized a contingent from the pub to run down to the harbor and carry Fogg back to the bar. When an ambulance arrived, Fogg had been stripped of his cold, wet clothes and wrapped in blankets. He was taken to Martha Vineyard Hospital, treated for hypothermia, and released later that day.

"His faithful dog 'Maui' was picked up by the [Edgartown Animal Control Officer] until family could retrieve him," the police report said.

Posted by aryan at 5:51 PM | Comments (0)

Police: Gun stopped from entering HS in Hyde Park

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Police massed outside a high school in Hyde Park today after a student was accused of trying to smuggle a loaded handgun past metal detectors.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

School officials at a high school in Hyde Park seized a loaded handgun from a student today who was trying to smuggle the firearm past metal detectors, according to a Boston police report.

Police arrested the 18-year-old student, Osemedua Ode, and accused him of possession of a loaded firearm without license, disorderly conduct, and other charges. Ode pleaded not guilty to the accusations today in West Roxbury District Court and was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 23.

Boston police said there was no evidence that Ode was trying to sneak the .357 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun into school to settle a dispute.

According to the police report, Ode approached the entrance to the Social Justice Academy on Metropolitan Avenue at about 7:40 a.m. The school is housed inside the former Hyde Park High School.

Police allege that Ode set a black bag on a table before he walked through a metal detector. A school administrator searched the bag and felt what appeared to be a gun, according to the report. While the administrator caught the attention of a Boston police officer stationed at the school, Ode took off running, police allege.

Officers arrested Ode a short time later near the intersection of Huntington Avenue and River Street. The silver gun was loaded with five hollow-tip bullets, police said.

Posted by aryan at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)

Rough seas stop police divers from searching downed fishing boat

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Six-foot waves on Nantucket Sound today have prevented State Police divers from continuing their search of the sunken Lady of Grace fishing boat for the remains of three crew members that have not yet been recovered.

Divers found the body of one of the four missing fisherman Monday in the wheelhouse of the 75-foot New Bedford-based vessel, which sank in about 50 feet of water about 12 miles north of Nantucket after it went missing on Friday. The divers were only able to search the wheelhouse because of leaking oil and other hazards and did not enter the other enclosed areas of the ship, according to State Police Sergeant Robert Bousquet.

The State Police dive team does intend to make future attempts to recover the remains, Bousquet said.

A commercial company with a larger boat that could withstand the six-foot swells was diving on the wreck today, according to Bousquet and Petty Officer Etta Smith, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard.

The commercial dive company had been hired to close vents on the Lady of Grace to minimize leaking oil and other environmental hazards, Smith said. The commercial divers would not be searching the wreck for remains.

The Coast Guard also announced today that State Police divers found the Lady of Grace's emergency beacon lodged between the deck and the starboard bulwark. The beacon is designed to float free from a sinking ship and stay on the water’s surface to send an emergency signal. The Coast Guard said it never received an emergency signal from the Lady of Grace.

The Coast Guard has identified the missing fisherman as Rogerio Ventura, 54, Mario Farinhas, 62, John Da Silva, 50, and, Antonio Barroqueiro, 50.

Posted by aryan at 3:10 PM | Comments (0)

New police commissioner makes shifts

By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff

New Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis announced several internal changes to the department today, including plans to require gang unit officers to sometimes patrol in uniform, to put drug detectives in every district, and to begin using a computer system to better track crime trends.

Compstat, currently used in New York and Los Angeles, relies on computers to map crimes. At weekly meetings, commanders must answer for crime patterns in the areas they oversee. Superintendent Robert Dunford, who heads the patrol force, has been using a similar system to hold district captains accountable, but now the strategy will be implemented across the department.

Davis also said he believes the gang unit and the school police should be considered patrol officers, who will now be under the command of the Bureau of Field Services, which includes all patrol officers. The commissioner said he will centralize detectives so that they will now be under one central command supervised by Superintendent Paul Joyce, who is in charge of investigative services. In a message posted on the department's website, Davis said that move is intended to "coordinate a unified investigative response."

Davis has also decided to decentralize the drug unit so every district will now have drug detectives. That move reverses a decision made by his predecessor, Kathleen M. O'Toole, to strip some police districts of drug detectives.

The plan also calls for the merging of the department's training and development arm with its internal investigations branch. "A review of citizen complaints against officers indicated that many of the issues identified could be mitigated with training that is designed to prevent misconduct," Davis's statement says.

Posted by srhee at 1:55 PM | Comments (0)

Defense attorney: Woman stabbed boyfriend in self-defense

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Deborah Amado fell to her knees and began to sob today in Somerville District Court when Judge Maurice Flynn said that the man she is accused of stabbing may die.

Prosecutors and police allege that Amado, 36, grabbed a 3 1/2 inch kitchen knife and stabbed her boyfriend John Feaster, 38, twice in the upper left chest early this morning in their Somerville apartment. Feaster was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital. The Middlesex District Attorney declined to provide details about his condition.

Amado pleaded not guilty today to armed assault with intent to murder and other charges.

Defense Attorney Cheryl McGillivray said in court that Amado had been physically and emotionally abused by Feaster for many years. McGillivray said that Amado acted in self defense this morning against the latest round of abuse.

As evidence, McGillivray cited a domestic violence complaint that Amado lodged against Feaster in Brockton. The charges were dropped, however, when Amado refused to testify in court, McGillivray said.

According to Somerville Police, Amado called 911 at 2:12 a.m. and reported a break-in. Officers found Feaster bleeding and Amado originally said that he had been stabbed by an intruder.

Feaster, who was conscious, told officers, "She stabbed me," according to a Somerville police report filed in court.

An officer asked, "Deborah?"

According to the police report, Feaster responded: "That's right."

Amado recanted her initial story, police said, and told investigators that she stabbed Feaster with the knife when he attacked her. When Feaster came back at her, Amado told police she stabbed him a second time.

Amado, who was also charged with armed assault in a dwelling and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail.

Posted by aryan at 1:48 PM | Comments (0)

Boston Councilor Ross fined for abusing parking ticket privilege

(Jonathan Wiggs/ Globe Staff file photo)

Boston City Councilor Michael Ross was fined $2,000 today by the State Ethics Commission for using his office to get out of nearly three dozen parking tickets.

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

Boston City Councilor Michael Ross illegally used his power as a city councilor to have nearly three dozen parking tickets dismissed, the State Ethics Commission has found.

Ross repeatedly broke state law forbidding municipal employees from using their positions for personal gain and will be fined $2,000 for the offenses, according to a settlement agreement signed by Ross and the commission and released to the public today.

He received the citations, which carried about $1,000 in fines, between January 2002 and February 2006 for violations including failure to pay parking meter fees and parking in resident-only spaces without a resident parking permit. The city allows councilors to dismiss parking tickets they receive when they are on official business. Ross had 105 tickets dismissed, but the commission found that he was not working when he received 35 of them.

"Elected officials are in office to serve the public, not themselves," Ethics Commission Executive Director Peter Sturges said in a statement today. "The privileges that they receive because of their duties and responsibilities may not be used for personal benefit."

Ross could not immediately be reached for comment but released a statement saying he takes "full responsibility" for his actions.

"There was no intent on my part to do anything wrong, but rather an element of carelessness that I, alone, take full responsibility for," he said in the statement. "This was a regrettable error and I recognize that I have a responsibility to ensure that my own actions are held to a higher standard. I have since settled this matter and have learned from the process."

City officials said this morning that Ross has since reimbursed the city $1,000 for the parking fines.

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.

Posted by aryan at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)

State Ethics Commission judgment against Boston City Councilor Michael Ross

STATE ETHICS COMMISSION
SUFFOLK, ss.
COMMISSION ADJUDICATORY
DOCKET NO. 07-0002

IN THE MATTER OF MICHAEL ROSS

DISPOSITION AGREEMENT

The State Ethics Commission and Michael Ross enter into this Disposition Agreement pursuant to Section 5 of the Commission's Enforcement Procedures. This Agreement constitutes a consented-to final order enforceable in the Superior Court, pursuant to G.L. c. 268B, § 4(j).

On June 8, 2006, the Commission initiated, pursuant to G.L. c. 268B, § 4(a), a preliminary inquiry into possible violations of the conflict of interest law, G.L. c. 268A, by Ross. The Commission concluded its inquiry and, on July 25, 2006, found reasonable cause to believe that Ross violated G.L. c. 268A.
The Commission and Ross now agree to the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Findings of Fact:

1.Michael P. Ross is a Boston city councilor. He assumed that office in January 2001.

2. In August 2000, the Boston Transportation Department instituted an administrative policy enabling city councilors to have parking violations "administratively dismissed" under certain circumstances. According to the policy, exercising this privilege requires that the councilor be "performing official city business" when the violation occurs.

3. From January 2002 through February 2006, Ross had parking violations dismissed under the policy. Most of these tickets involved parking violations resulting from a failure to pay parking meter fees ($25 per ticket) and/or parking without a permit in residents-only parking spots ($40 per ticket). Although Ross was a resident of Boston and therefore eligible for a resident parking permit, he did not obtain such a permit.

4. While a majority of the tickets dismissed during this four year period were issued while Ross was on City business, approximately 35 (out of a total of 105) were issued while he was engaged in personal rather than City business. The estimated value of the dismissed tickets involving personal business was approximately $1,000. (1) Ross has since reimbursed the City $1,000 regarding these tickets.

Conclusions of Law:

5. General laws, c. 268A, § 23(b) (2) prohibits a municipal employee from knowingly, or with reason to know, using his official position to secure for himself or others unwarranted privileges or exemptions which are of substantial value and not properly available to similarly situated individuals.

6. As a Boston city councilor, Ross was a municipal employee within the meaning of G.L. c. 268A.

7. The dismissal of approximately $1,000 in personal business parking tickets was a privilege or exemption of substantial value.

8. Ross used his Boston city councilor position to obtain the dismissals.

9. Ross's having these parking tickets dismissed was unwarranted because the ticket violations occurred while Ross was engaged in personal rather than official city business and because so dismissing these tickets was in violation of the written Boston Transportation Department policy.

10. This unwarranted privilege was not otherwise properly available to similarly situated municipal employees.

11. Therefore, by knowingly using his position as a Boston city councilor to secure for himself unwarranted privileges or exemptions of substantial value not properly available to similarly situated individuals, Ross repeatedly violated §23(b)(2).

Resolution:

In view of the foregoing violations of G.L. c. 268A by Ross, the Commission has determined that the public interest would be served by the disposition of this matter without further enforcement proceedings, on the basis of the following terms and conditions agreed to by Ross:

(1) that Ross pay to the Commission the sum of $2,000 as a civil penalty for violating G.L. c. 268A as noted above; parking tickets; and

(2) that Ross waive all rights to contest the findings of fact, conclusions of law and terms and conditions contained in this Agreement in this or any other related administrative or judicial proceedings to which the Commission is or may be a party.

STATE ETHICS COMMISSION
By:

__//ss//_________January 30, 2007____ __//ss//_________January 17, 2007____
Peter Sturges Date Michael Ross Date

I, Michael Ross, have personally read the above Disposition Agreement. I understand that it is a public document and that by signing it, I will have agreed to all of the terms and conditions therein including payment of $2,000 to the State Ethics Commission.

__//ss//_________January 17, 2007____
Michael Ross Date

(1.) The exact number and value of the tickets improperly dismissed cannot be determined because of the passage of time and the absence of recordkeeping.

Posted by aryan at 11:49 AM | Comments (0)

Coakley addresses health care, stem cells -- avoids Big Dig

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Martha Coakley outlined her plans today as the new attorney general, promising to streamline the office, promoting the launch of a new unit to implement the state's universal health care law, and vowing to review stem cell research restrictions enacted during the Romney administration.

Coakley, speaking to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, also mentioned the largest issue facing her office: The fatal ceiling collapse of a Big Dig tunnel last July.

"We are continuing to work vigorously on resolution of the criminal and civil issues," said Coakley, who declined to discuss the Big Dig case in detail, according to a copy of her prepared remarks provided by her staff. She spoke at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.

The attorney general said that she has created a new Chief Information Officer to upgrade technology in the office and has been reviewing the efficiency and function of staff positions during her transition.

The attorney general's new Health Care Division will work closely with the Connector Board to implement the state's new health care law and will address medical privacy issues, nursing home and long-term care problems, and spearhead advocacy at the state and federal level, Coakley said.

She then took aim at former Governor Mitt Romney, saying that stem cell research and other biotechnology initiatives should be "encouraged and not discouraged."

"We plan to take a very close look at regulations developed by the Romney administration last summer that raise serious concerns," Coakley said.

In August, state regulators appointed by Romney adopted rules for stem cell research that major hospitals and research centers feared could subject scientists to criminal penalties for certain research activities.

As a footnote, Coakley joked about how often she is asked what it is like to be first female Attorney General.

"I am not re-doing the 20th floor of One Ashburton Place in pink," Coakley said, referring the location of her new office. Being a woman, she said, will be "just another factor that will help me do this job well."

Posted by aryan at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

Milford police investigate shooting death on Main Street

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A fight in an apartment on Main Street in Milford turned deadly overnight when police said someone fired a gun and killed a 29-year-old man.

Police have not announced the arrest of any suspects in connection with the crime.

Officers responded to a 911 call about gunshots in an apartment at 20 Main Street at 11:12 p.m., according to a release from Milford police. Investigators found the 29-year-old man bleeding from several gunshot wounds.

The man was rushed to Milford Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Police did not release the name of the victim because his family in Brazil had not yet been notified about his death.

The case remains under investigation, said police, who did not release additional details.

Posted by aryan at 9:32 AM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2007

Dog park is in the works, but some bark at project

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

It is noontime at Peters Park, a ragged piece of ground tucked between Victorian row houses in the South End where people are arriving with droves of dogs.

There is excitement in the air, mostly from the dogs who come straining at the ends of leashes and whimpering to get into the scrum of pets romping in the dirt inside a ratty chain-link fence.

After years of the park being used as an unofficial dog playground, Peters Park advocates are planning a $250,000 renovation to convert the land into the city’s first sanctioned dog park and a canine paradise.

It’s to have dog water fountains (built low so they can lap at ground level), designated big-dog and small-dog areas, and a special "dog walk of fame" that will contain memorials for past pets in the shapes of paws. Double gates will help prevent dogs from escaping a big fenced play area when others enter.

For the dog owners, there are to be acorn street lights, custom benches, new trees, and flowering shrubs.

The chain-link fence is to be replaced with wrought iron. A bench will be dedicated to the late Gerry Studds, the former congressman who was a frequent park visitor.

"It will be really nice," said Dan Sullivan, a real estate agent who several times a day walks his Boston terrier, Yoda, who was clad Monday in a blue sweater. "This is like a community backyard."

It is perhaps an inevitable development in a neighborhood now supporting dog catering services and a dog bakery, along with more standard services such as grooming.

But the South End is also home to a growing resentment toward dogs and their owners, and nearby residents have mounted opposition, saying the dogs bring unwanted sounds, sights, and smells to the neighborhood.

"They pee on my doorway," said Kwong Lim, who lives in a nearby row house. "They make a mess. There are so many flies around here. In the summertime, you can’t open the door."

Lim has spearheaded a letter-writing campaign to oppose the project. Some 160 residents opposed to the park sent letters to the city, he said.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Commission held a meeting Monday, as part of a review process that is expected to come to a vote next month. If the commission approves the project, construction could be finished by fall.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:56 PM | Comments (0)

Father sues airline for letting his daughter fly south

By Shelley Murphy

In the midst of a divorce case last March, the mother of 2-year-old Chloe Combe-Rivas secretly boarded a Continental Airlines flight in Kansas City with her daughter, caught a connecting flight from Houston to Mexico, and never returned.

Monday, the young girl’s distraught father, Didier Combe, 40, filed a federal lawsuit in Boston against Continental Airlines, accusing the carrier of negligence, breach of contract, and interference with custodial relations. The suit says Continental ignored its own regulations, which require a single parent traveling from the United States to Mexico with a minor child to provide a notarized letter from the other parent authorizing the trip.

"I just feel that they didn’t protect my child the way it was supposed to be done," said Combe, who has made six trips to Mexico in a vain search for the brown-eyed, curly-haired daughter he hasn’t seen since his former wife failed to return her from a visit. "I know that I have to try everything to get her back."

A spokeswoman for Continental Airlines, Julie King, said the company has not yet received a copy of the lawsuit and declined to comment.

Combe, a French native who came to the United States on a tennis scholarship in 1991 and became a citizen two years ago, said he and his former wife, Aline Rivas-Vera, were living in Kansas City, going through a divorce, and sharing 50-50 custody of their daughter when she fled last year. He recently moved to Ipswich.

"I brought Chloe to her Mom’s for the day on March 14," said Combe. He said he later learned that Rivas-Vera, 27, who is a Mexican citizen, had boarded Continental Flight 2547 from Kansas City to Houston with their daughter, then caught Continental Flight 1524 to Mexico City.

A Missouri court granted Combe full custody of his daughter last year, and in June, his former wife was indicted by a federal grand jury in Missouri on an international parental kidnapping charge.

Lawyer Anthony Tarricone of Boston, who represents Combe, accused Continental Airlines of failing to protect Chloe Combe-Rivas and violating regulations that were specifically designed to prevent parental kidnapping.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:53 PM | Comments (0)

Brockton's Catholic schools to consolidate

By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff

BROCKTON -- In the first test of a new strategy for revitalizing urban Catholic schools, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley announced Monday that, with the help of wealthy donors and a local college, he plans to replace the last three parochial schools in Brockton with one regional school located in two refurbished buildings.

Archdiocesan officials said the Brockton effort -- an attempt to respond to declining enrollment, inadequate financing, and older buildings -- is a model that the church also looks to implement in Dorchester and Lowell.

The model, in which a regionalized Catholic school will be governed by a local board of trustees approved by O’Malley, is a break with the decentralized system of parish-financed parochial schools that has characterized Catholic education in much of the United States for more than a century.

The new regional school will give up some autonomy in exchange for considerable investment of financial and academic resources. Stonehill College, a Catholic institution located in neighboring Easton, has agreed to help with curriculum development, teacher training, and administration through the college’s Center for Nonprofit Management.

Suffolk Construction has agreed to renovate the two school buildings, and to build an addition for one of them, at cost. And businessman Jack Connors Jr. -- the chairman emeritus of the advertising firm Hill, Holliday -- is leading a committee aiming to raise about $14 million to finance the project.

"Brockton is one of the poorest cities in the state, yet these families are looking for a faith-based, values-supported Catholic education," Connors, the chairman of an archdiocesan panel looking at the long-term future of Catholic education, said in a telephone interview. "One of the things so many of these Catholic schools have in common is financial trouble and resource famine, so all we’re really trying to do is introduce the haves to the have-nots. It’s a movement to bring some of the more wealthy resources of our faith to the neediest parts of our faith."

Enrollment in Eastern Massachusetts Catholic schools has plummeted by more than two-thirds over the last four decades. There are now about 50,000 students in the schools of the Archdiocese of Boston, 31,000 in elementary schools and 16,000 in high schools, down from 153,000 in 1965.

The costs of running Catholic schools have skyrocketed, as the decline in the number of nuns and priests, who worked essentially for free, has required the schools to hire salaried laypeople, and as Catholic schools compete for pupils with schools that have better athletic facilities and technology.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:47 PM | Comments (0)

Boston police name latest homicide victim

By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff

Boston Police today identified a 21-year-old from Roxbury as the man found shot to death in Dorchester on Saturday afternoon.

Ruth Rollins said that she reported her son, Warren Daniel Hairston, missing last week after he failed to come home. Police have made no arrests in his killing.

Rollins said her son was friends with several youths from the H-Block gang in Roxbury, including Jahmol Norfleet, 20, who helped lead a ceasefire between H-Block and a rival gang, Heath Street, in the months before he was gunned down in November. Police last month arrested an Everett teen, saying two guns found in a car he was driving were linked to Norfleet's shooting, but have not made an arrest in the homicide.

Hairston, who was the father of a 2-year-old girl, was released from jail the day Norfleet was killed, Rollins said. She said she has heard rumors suggesting her son was a suspect in Norfleet's killing, but she does not believe them.

Like Norfleet, Rollins said, her son was tired of burying friends. "He wanted this to end," Rollins said.

Posted by srhee at 8:17 PM | Comments (0)

Pipe fitter, senator push to regulate treatment of circus elephants

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

State Senator Robert L. Hedlund insists that he is not a crusader. Nor, the Weymouth Republican hastens to add, is he a "vegetarian or anything."

"It's just the further I got into this thing, the more appalled I became," Hedlund said today in a telephone interview.

Hedlund is talking about elephants. Since late 2004, he has been pushing a bill on Beacon Hill to toughen the training and cruelty standards for circuses that bring elephants to Massachusetts.

Tomorrow morning at the State House, the senator is holding an informal hearing that will include Dr. Joyce Poole, who has studied the creatures for more than 30 years in Kenya's Amboseli National Park. Hedlund described her as the "Jane Goodall of elephants."

The senator, who hasn't been to a circus since he was a boy, is trying to outlaw the bullhook, a device that looks like a fireplace poker on a long pole that he said some circus trainers use to beat elephants into submission.

Circuses disagree with that assessment. They say bullhooks, chains and other tools are humane, according to the Associated Press.

"It's analogous to putting a leash and collar on your dog, or a bit and bridle on your horse," said Tom Albert, vice president of government relations for Feld Entertainment, which owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, the nation's largest traveling circus.

Before Hedlund took a close look at the way he says elephants are treated in circuses, he was skeptical when a constituent first approached him with the idea for the bill, which passed the Senate last session but stalled in the House.

"Initially I felt it was going to be some type of politically correct, left leaning type of outlook," Hedlund said. "Interestingly enough, he's a union pipe fitter. A meat-eating gun owner much like myself."

That meat-eating gun owner is Bob MacKay, 44, a refrigeration pipe fitter with Local 537 who also heads the South Shore Humane Society. MacKay, of Rockland, spent time in Kenya watching elephants in the wild and said he then heard stories about how the animals are mistreated when they are brought to this country to perform.

"This is all about how the circus is an anachronism in the modern world," MacKay said.

Posted by aryan at 6:09 PM | Comments (0)

Rivera, once Boston's next superintendent, gets gov.'s welcome in NY

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York Governor Eliot Spitzer today trotted out Manuel J. Rivera, the man who suddenly withdrew as Boston's incoming superintendent, as the state's new deputy secretary for education.

Rivera, now the Rochester, N.Y., schools superintendent, will act as the governor's top education adviser in a newly created state position, Spitzer said. Rivera will work on developing policy for higher education and the state's public schools.

"We cannot be more thrilled," said Spitzer, with Rivera standing next to him in the state Capitol's Blue Room. "Having Manny Rivera here today is so important to me and the parents and students of New York."

Rivera, who would have earned a nearly $300,000 base salary as Boston's school superintendent, will earn considerably less working for Spitzer -- $169,000 -- in Albany, a city with a much lower cost of living. He was making $212,960 in Rochester.

Rivera's decision last week to not take the Boston job stunned Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and community members.

At first, Rivera said nothing about his decision to back out of the Boston job. However, his confidantes told the Globe that Rivera was not taking the position for numerous reasons, including Spitzer's job offer, problems in contract talks with Boston, and a concern that School Committee Chairwoman Elizabeth Reilinger would take too big a role in school operations.

On Saturday, Rivera said Reilinger was not a major factor in his decision.

At today's news conference in Albany, Rivera said that Spitzer had first mentioned the possibility of his playing a key role in leading his education agenda about two to three weeks ago.

"I couldn't say no," Rivera said.

A spokesperson for Spitzer said Rivera would start work on Feb. 12, and Rochester school system would work out a transition for Rivera to segue from his job as superintendent into the state role.

New York state already has both an education commissioner and a chancellor of its state university system. Rivera will not oversee them directly, but rather will play a policy-making role for the governor.

Spitzer had tapped Rivera to serve as a co-chair of an advisory team on education after his election last November.

Rivera was Boston's choice for school superintendent after a months-long search. He had accepted the job last September, but negotiations over his contract with the city did not begin until early this year.

Posted by aryan at 4:27 PM | Comments (0)

Woman killed by truck in Belmont

By Dan Muse, Globe Correspondent

A 66-year-old Belmont woman was killed today when she was hit by a delivery truck on Cross Street.

Xuling Lu was trying to cross the street between Alexander Avenue and Farnham Street at around 5:54 a.m. when she was struck, according to Belmont Police, who were first on the scene.

Police would not release the identity of the truck driver because he had not been charged with a crime. Police described him as a 33-year-old man from Somerville.

After striking the woman, the truck driver stopped, flagged down another vehicle, and called 911. The woman was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and pronounced dead.

The truck was impounded. State Police and Belmont Police are currently investigating the incident.

Posted by aryan at 3:40 PM | Comments (0)

DA: Cabbie shot fleeing robber in back

(Lisa Poole for The Boston Globe)

Bienvenido Rodriguez is accused of shooting a man in the back who police say had just robbed the cab driver at knife point.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Prosecutors charged a Lawrence taxi driver with attempted murder today, accusing him of shooting a man in the back who they say had just robbed him at knife point.

Defense attorney Pamela Saia said today that his client, Bienvenido Rodriguez, was acting in self defense on Sunday morning when he was confronted by an armed man erratically waving a knife as they both sat in the front seat of his taxi.

"Mr. Rodriguez is scared to death," Saia said. "He was completely afraid he was going to be killed."

Rodriguez, 46, pleaded not guilty in Lawrence District Court today to charges that included armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

According to court records, Rodriguez admitted to Lawrence police that he shot and wounded Herman Irene, the man who he said had just robbed him at knife point. Rodriguez told police that he was only trying to scare Irene.

Essex County prosecutors and Lawrence police tell a different story. They said Irene was shot in the back after he jumped out of Rodriguez's vehicle as he was running down a Lawrence street.

"When a guy is fleeing, he no long poses a threat to you," Lawrence Police Chief John Romero said today. "Because Irene was no longer a threat, Rodriguez had no legal right to shoot him."

Romero said Rodriguez was licensed to carry in another city, which he declined to identify.

Irene was taken to Lawrence General Hospital and then transferred to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Irene, who is charged with armed robbery, is scheduled to be arraigned today in his hospital room, according to a spokesperson for Essex Country District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

Posted by aryan at 2:13 PM | Comments (0)

Coast Guard suspends search for four missing NB fishermen

(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

Maria Barroqueiro (right), the daughter of Antonio Barroqueiro, the captain of the Lady of Grace, came today to New Bedford City Hall, where officials told her they had suspended the search for her father and three other missing fishermen.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The Coast Guard suspended the active search today for four New Bedford-based fishermen who had not been heard from since Friday when they were chipping ice off of their 75-foot boat. The crew is presumed dead.

A search team found the Lady of Grace on Sunday lying on its side in 36 feet of water about 12 miles north of Nantucket, but an oil leak prevented divers from entering the cabin to see if the bodies of the crew were inside. The boat's one life raft was found attached to the boat.

"We don't know right now if the crew from the Lady of Grace remained with the vessel or went into the water," Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Pat Cook said today at a press conference in New Bedford.

If the crew entered the 34-degree water, "It is beyond probable, beyond possible that they would still be viable in surviving at this point," Cook said.

The owner of the Lady of Grace told investigators that the boat had water survival suits in the wheelhouse, but it was not known if the crew had time to put on the suits before the vessel sank. On Sunday, divers had been unable to access the wheelhouse to determine if the suits had been used.

The Coast Guard conducted 27 separate searches that covered more than 6,300 square miles. Teams hunted for the missing fishermen in Falcon jets, a Jayhawk helicopter, three Coast Guard cutters, and boats from three additional Coast Guard stations. The active search was officially suspended at 10:46 a.m. today after officials met with families of the missing crew.

"Our hearts are aching over this," said New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang. "Our city has seen this time and time again."

A Massachusetts State Police dive team is at the scene of the wreck today and plans to try again to enter the Lady of Grace. The dive is difficult because visibility is limited to two-feet, Cook said, and divers were waiting until later this afternoon at slack tide.

The Coast Guard was investigating a report it received this morning from a young boy who said he saw what looked like someone in the water on Saturday afternoon when he was flying in a plane from Hyannis to Nantucket.

The crew of the Lady of Grace left New Bedford harbor Tuesday for an eight-day fishing trip, according to the Coast Guard. The vessel was reported missing Saturday after the crew of another fishing boat, the Lisa Ann II, lost contact with the Lady of Grace.

The Coast Guard identified the missing men as Antonio Barroqueiro, 50, of Fairhaven, the captain of the Lady of Grace; Joao Silva, the captain's brother-in-law; and crew members Mario Farinha and Rogerio Vendura. The ages and hometowns of the other men were not available.

While ice and weather are suspected of sinking the Lady of Grace, the boat's demise remains under investigation.

"The short of it is at this point, we don't know" what happened, Cook said.

The crew spent Friday afternoon and early evening removing ice from the vessel, Cook said, citing cell phone conversations between the crew and the owner of the boat. The last known communication from the Lady of Grace was an e-mail sent at about 10 p.m. on Friday. The crew had indicated that their ice-removal efforts had been successful, Cook said.

Lang, the New Bedford mayor, said that while the city grieved for the four crewmen, officials must ensure that the Lady of Grace was not lost in vain. He took aim at a host of reforms needed to make fishing safer, including federal regulations that encourage boats to stay at sea in inclement weather.

"This is unacceptable that we have our fishermen out there in the worst weather because the way the regs are written," Lang said.

He also promised to push for better deicing equipment for boats and survival suits that were more functional and would allow fishermen to don the equipment and continue working. The current survival suits are so restrictive that crews only put them on moments before a boat is about to sink, Lang said.

"I don't think there is anybody in this city who today isn't waking up and saying a prayer for these people," Lang said.

Posted by aryan at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)

Counselors at Lexington High after student killed in crash

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Grief counselors will be at Lexington High School today as students return after one of their classmates died this weekend in a single-car crash on Route 2.

"We will provide an opportunity for students to gather together with the support of our counselors, nurses, social workers, and clinicians throughout the school day," said high school Principal Michael P. Jones, in an e-mail to parents. "We will share further information with students and faculty as it becomes available."

Andrew Stone, 18, of Lexington, had been in the Lexington High School class of 2007. He died Friday night when the 2000 Audi he was riding in swerved off the road and hit a tree.

Authorities have not released the name of the 17-year-old who was driving the Audi because he is a juvenile, according to Corey Welford, a spokesman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerald T. Leone Jr. The driver was treated and released from Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington.

An initial state police investigation found that "alcohol appears to have been a factor" in the crash, though no specific evidence was cited in a press release issued early Saturday morning. A state police spokeswoman said today that toxicology tests are still pending that will definitively determine if the driver had been drinking.

Posted by aryan at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)

Coast Guard, NB mayor meet with families of missing fishermen

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Coast Guard officials and New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang are meeting this morning with the families of four fishermen who have been missing since Friday and are feared dead after divers found their 75-foot boat lying on its side in 36 feet of water about 12 miles north of Nantucket.

Two Coast Guard cutters are still searching today for the four missing crew members, but there was scant hope. The boat's one life raft was found still in its case and attached to the vessel, and it appeared unlikely the crew would be able to survive in the frigid waters, according to the Coast Guard.

After meeting with the families this morning, Lang and Coast Guard officials are scheduled to hold a press conference at the Waterfront Visitors Center in New Bedford.

The crew of the Lady of Grace left New Bedford harbor Tuesday for an eight-day fishing trip, according to the Coast Guard. It was reported missing Saturday after the crew of another fishing boat, the Lisa Ann II, lost contact with the Lady of Grace. Its last contact was an e-mail received by the Lisa Ann at about 10 p.m. Friday.

The Coast Guard has identified the missing men as Antonio Barroqueiro, 50, of Fairhaven, the captain of the Lady of Grace; Joao Silva, the captain's brother-in-law; and crew members Mario Farinha and Rogerio Vendura. The ages and hometowns of the other men were not available.

Posted by aryan at 9:54 AM | Comments (0)

January 28, 2007

Local soldier killed in Iraq

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

BARNSTABLE - Anastacia Fuller was 13 years old when she met her future husband.

Alex Fuller, then barely 15, approached her at a club in Hyannis and asked her to dance. They fell in love almost immediately. Four years later, they were married in South Yarmouth.

Anastacia Fuller, now 19 and six months pregnant with their first child, spoke to her husband last Tuesday when he called her from his post in Iraq to tell her he had received the pictures she sent him of her expanding belly.

"He told me how beautiful I looked," Fuller recalled today at her parents' home in Centerville.

It was their last conversation. Late Thursday night, two Army soldiers came by her house to tell her that Alex Fuller, a sergeant in the 61st Cavalry Regiment, was killed near Baghdad earlier that day by a roadside bomb.

Anastacia Fuller said she is proud of her husband's decision to serve, but said she was troubled by the way he died.

"He didn't die for anything that changed anything," she said, as she sat at the kitchen counter, her round belly peeking from her gray shirt. "He's just another life. Just another casualty. I'd like to have more closure knowing that he died to save somebody's life."

But she said she knows exactly what she will say to her daughter when she asks about her father: "I'm going to tell her he was a hero."

Alex Fuller joined the Army in October, 2004, just before he got married. He was deployed last October to Iraq, shortly after his wife became pregnant.

A skilled boxer who briefly played high school football, Fuller loved physical challenges, his friends and family said today.

"He was just the toughest, most fearless kid," said Zach Hallett, 24, of Osterville, Fuller's best friend. "He wasn't afraid of anything."

In the Army, Fuller believed he had a future. A high school dropout who eventually got his General Educational Development certificate, Fuller saw military service as a way to get ahead. He imagined spending decades in the Army, rising through the ranks, or parlaying his time in the military into a career in criminal justice.

"He wanted to make a difference," said his mother-in-law, Irena Zinov, 42, as she cooked her daughter a plate of cheese-stuffed pancakes. "The idea, you know, of serving his country, made him feel very good."

Alex Fuller embraced the opportunity to fight overseas, Anastacia Fuller said. "He wanted to stop the attackers," she said. "He wanted to stop the terrorists. He wanted to kill the enemy."

But recently, Fuller began to crave home. He was supposed to return to Massachusetts in April for his daughter's birth.

"When Stacy got pregnant and he saw the pictures," Zinov said, "that's when he started thinking it might be nice to get back."

Anastacia Fuller, who plans to go to college and become a nurse, said she will live with her parents for a while, but expects to buy her own place with the money she and her husband saved.

She plans to name her daughter, Alicia, the name her husband chose because it resembles his own. "I didn't really like it at first, but he wanted it so bad," she said. "After all this, I felt like I had do it for him."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 6:46 PM | Comments (0)

Boat found, crew missing off Nantucket

By Kathy Mccabe, Globe Staff

A dive team today located the Lady of Grace, a 75-foot fishing boat from New Bedford, but the search continued off Nantucket for its four-member crew, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

"We're very concerned for their safety," Petty Officer Zach Zubricki said. "It's a very serious situation. We have not located them yet. We don't know if they're inside the boat or not."

Antonio Barroqueiro, 50, of Fairhaven was captain of the vessel, which was reported missing on Saturday. Crew members included Joao Silva, his brother-in-law, and Mario Farinha and Rogerio Vendura, officials said.

Reached by telephone today, Barroqueiro's daughter, Maria, called her father "a hard worker . . . He loved his family very much."

She said the Barroqueiro and Silva families were together at the captain's Fairhaven home. "We're hoping for the best," she said.

Divers found the sunken vessel about 2:30 p.m., roughly 11 nautical miles north of Nantucket, the boat's last known position. It was lying portside, in 36 ft. of water. Its only life raft was still in its case, attached to the bottom, Zubricki said.

"That is not a good sign," he said. "We were hoping that they could find the life raft and get out."

The Coast Guard continued its search by air and sea. Since Saturday, the Coast Guard conducted 25 separate searches, covering more than 6,000 square miles. "We've covered a lot of area," Zubricki said. "We're still looking for the crew."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 4:53 PM | Comments (0)

January 27, 2007

Update: tunnel reopens after leak

By Brian Ballou
GLOBE STAFF

Traffic is flowing freely again through a Big Dig tunnel that was shut down earlier today because of a water leak.

Officials said two sprinker heads likely burst from chilly weather, sending water gushing into a ventilation building above the Thomas P. O'Neill tunnel this morning. The water then seeped down into the tunnel.

Officials shut down Interstate 93 southbound at Exit 20. Traffic was routed out of the exit and a major backup was created north of the city.

Workers vacuumed up the water and the tunnel reopened at about 3 p.m.

John Carlisle, spokesman for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, said officials didn't anticipate any structural damage because of the leak.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:47 PM | Comments (0)

Hundreds protest Iraq war on Common

By Nathan Hurst
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

Several hundred anti-war protesters gathered near the Park Street MBTA station on the Boston Common early this afternoon to call for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Protesters held signs proclaiming "War on Iraq is immoral" and "It was always about oil."

Drivers honked and passersby waved in support, with some stopping to join in the demonstration.

Organizers of the rally said the turnout at today's event was better than expected and reflected a change in attitude of the American people toward the country's involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and other foreign nations.

Tens of thousands of protesters also rallied against in front of the Capitol today in Washington, and several rallies were scheduled at other locations in Massachusetts.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:33 PM | Comments (0)

Update: section of Interstate 93 tunnel closed

John Guilfoil
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

State police say the southbound Interstate 93 tunnel under Boston's downtown has been closed at Exit 20. Traffic is being routed out the exit.

A water pipe burst this morning in a ventilation building above the Big Dig tunnel, sending a shower of water onto the roadway.

State Police spokesman Lieutenant Eric Anderson says cold weather may have contributed to the pipe bursting.

The good news: once cars go out the exit, it's just a short drive before they can merge back onto 93 southbound.

Check out the Massachusetts Turnpike's traffic cameras for a view of the southbound traffic crawling slowly into the city.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

Pipe burst sends water into Big Dig tunnel

By John Guilfoil
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

A water pipe burst this morning in a ventilation building above a Big Dig tunnel in Boston, sending a shower of water onto the roadway. The southbound Interstate 93 tunnel may have to be closed because of the problem.

State Police spokesman Lieutenant Eric Anderson says cold weather may have contributed to the pipe bursting.

The pipe has been shut off, but two lanes in the tunnel near Exit 20 have been closed and the remainder may be shut down shortly while officials deal with the problem, according to Anderson.

Anderson said traffic may be detoured at exit 20 while engineers work to correct the problem.

Posted by mfinucane at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)

January 26, 2007

School Committee chair under pressure to resign

By Tracy Jan
GLOBE STAFF

A city councilor and two others called for the ouster of Elizabeth Reilinger as Boston School Committee chairwoman, saying Reilinger should step down because her controlling style alienated the incoming schools superintendent, who withdrew from the post Tuesday.

Councilor at Large Michael Flaherty, the former council president, delivered a letter to Reilinger’s School Committee office Friday, demanding her resignation, and the Boston Teachers Union president and a former school committee member also said it was time for Reilinger to quit as chair because of her tendency to micromanage.

Two councilors, Felix Arroyo, and John Tobin, also criticized Reilinger’s leadership, questioning whether she should stay.

They blame Reilinger for the sudden withdrawal of Manuel J. Rivera, a nationally recognized superintendent, from the Boston schools job.

Two confidants of Rivera told the Globe this week that he decided to pull out of the Boston job in part because Reilinger had made moves to hire key department staff before Rivera was to take office this summer.

The calls for Reilinger’s resignation come after a longstanding undercurrent of discontent among some school committee members, city councilors and parents, who have felt that the school system was operating under a cloak of secrecy during Reilinger’s nine-year tenure as head of the School Committee. But she also has had widespread support, and her fellow committee members have elected her as chairwoman nine times, many saying because they admired her dedication to the post. Numerous supporters praise her for strong leadership.

In his letter to Reilinger, Flaherty wrote, ‘‘The search process, which you chair, has alienated many of the leading educators in the nation. . . . As a parent with three children in the Boston Public Schools, I feel it is my duty to ask that you step down as chairperson of the appointed Boston School Committee. I believe that only then will we be able to move forward and attract a great leader for our city’s schools.’’

Mayor Thomas M. Menino — who appoints members to the School Committee, for which they are eligible for a $7,500 annual stipend — reiterated his support for Reilinger yesterday through a spokeswoman.

Reilinger, who does not take the stipend for her work with the committee, declined to comment. On Thursday, she said she did not believe that her style played a role in Rivera’s decision and disputed assertions by Rivera’s confidantes that she tried to influence the hiring of Rivera’s staff.

Boston schools Superintendent Michael G. Contompasis, who took over after Thomas W. Payzant retired and had agreed to stay on until Rivera started, also disputed reports that Reilinger had tried to influence hiring decisions. Contompasis said he asked Rivera in December to recommend someone for the new position of chief academic officer, and Rivera said he did not have anyone in mind.

Reilinger’s ‘‘opinion is valued, but she doesn’t get engaged with the day to day operations of the schools,’’ Contompasis said.

Newly-elected Council President Maureen Feeney, who has known Reilinger for more than 13 years, said she saw no reason to make a change in leadership of the School Committee.

‘‘She is one of the most honorable and dedicated woman I have ever known,’’ Feeney said. ‘‘She is being used as a scapegoat. Let’s put the blame where it belongs, on Manny Rivera.’’

Rivera declined comment Friday.

Reilinger, 60, who ran a homeless shelter and alternative education program for more than 20 years, has served on the school committee since Menino appointed her in 1994.

The School Committee was elected by voters until the mayor gained the power to appoint members in 1991, and many observers have said the board has been less fractious as a mayorally appointed group, though some critics say the board now is a rubber stamp.

Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers Union and a member of the superintendent search committee, sent an email to teachers yesterday saying that he understood why Rivera changed his mind about the job and said Reilinger’s micromanagement surfaced early in the search.

Reilinger ‘‘exuded a top-down, controlling style that permeated the entire search process,’’ wrote Stutman, who said that he had spoken with Rivera several times since he was named superintendent in September.

‘‘There is no doubt that Rivera saw this, understood this, and finally rejected it when Dr. Reilinger tried to extend her reach into his nascent administration,’’ wrote Stutman, who is in the midst of a contract battle with the school system. He called Reilinger a ‘‘self-appointed, wanna-be superintendent.’’

Tobin, a longtime critic of the School Committee’s lack of transparency, said Reilinger leads in a vacuum, and Menino should not allow her to lead the next search.

‘‘The mayor has said, ‘Judge me by the schools,’ and this is a part of it,’’ Tobin said. ‘‘This is not a good situation for the city.’’
Current and former School Committee members differ on their views of Reilinger’s working style.

Susan Naimark, who was on the School Committee for eight years through 2004, said Reilinger discouraged public discussion and often operated independently from the rest of the board.

But Dennis Wright, who served for 2-1/2 years beginning in 2002, called Reilinger ‘‘the ideal School Committee chair’’ because she was a good facilitator and collaborator — not a top-down manager.

Rev. Gregory G. Groover, Sr., a new School Committee member who also served on the search committee, said Reilinger was a focused, effective leader.

‘‘She asks the tough questions,’’ he said.

Donovan Slack of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Posted by mbrelis at 9:47 PM | Comments (0)

Ethics panel charges former state official

By Sean P. Murphy
GLOBE STAFF

The state Ethics Commission has charged Michael J. O’Toole, a former high-ranking state official, with violating the conflict-of-interest law in a case notable for the large sums of money involved.

During a five-day period in March 2003, the commission alleged, O’Toole authorized the payment of $1,118,750 in discretionary grants to five police departments, even though financial reports submitted by those departments had not been reviewed as required.

Three weeks later, O’Toole joined Crest Associates, a consulting firm that had reaped large fees for assisting those police departments in obtaining the grants.

The ethics law prohibits public officials from taking action in their official capacity in matters in which they have a financial interest, and from benefiting as a private citizen from prior decisions they made as public officials.

O’Toole faces fines of up to $38,000, under the law, which provides for a $2,000 fine per violation. The Ethics Commission can also seek restitution of money paid to O’Toole.

O’Toole’s lawyer, Thomas M. Hoopes, said Friday that O’Toole will fight the charges at an adjudicatory proceeding before the commission. Under state law, if O’Toole is found by the commission to have violated ethics laws, he can then appeal to Superior Court.

‘‘We feel these allegations are misguided and misinformed and we will fight them all the way,’’ said Hoopes.

No date has been set for the hearing.

Crest Associates was paid over $2 million between 2001 and 2003 by various law enforcement agencies, all of which shared in millions of dollars in grants from the Executive Office of Public Safety. Crest was founded by Richard St. Louis, who was O’Toole’s predecessor as grant administrator at the state agency, and a longtime friend and adviser of James P. Jajuga, the former public safety secretary.

St. Louis committed suicide in 2004 amid published reports of mounting questions about Crest and its ability to obtain state government grants, and its lucrative fees, which equaled about 20 percent of the grant money.

Public safety employees in 2003 told the Globe and FBI investigators that virtually all of the grant money handed out by the agency was being awarded to Crest clients. The grant program, which has since been overhauled, is funded with money from the US Justice Department, but administered on the state level.

O’Toole is the only one who has faced charges over the grants.

The Ethics Commission accused O’Toole of approving $793,750 for three police departments on the day before he formally accepted a job with Crest on March 4, 2003, and of approving another $375,000 for two other police departments in the three days after he accepted the Crest job.

Those grants went to in Concord, Arlington, Oak Bluffs, Wakefield, and Melrose for specialized police initiatives, such as antiterrorism measures.

Before joining Crest, O’Toole also approved 10 official reports that detailed use of the grant money by those five police departments, including the fees paid to Crest, according to the Ethics Commission. Those approvals meant the state considered the money properly used.

The Ethics Commission also accused O’Toole of approving three financial reports from the North Andover and Westwood police departments, also Crest clients.

In addition, O’Toole is accused of writing the financial report while a Crest employee for a police department regarding a grant he had approved while at the Executive Office of Public Safety. The Ethics Commission did not name the department.

The state ethics law prohibits state employees from making decisions on matters in which they have a financial interest. In this case, O’Toole, 44, is alleged to have had an interest in the financial fortunes of Crest because of his prospective employment there when he signed vouchers releasing grant money to Crest clients and approved financial reports.

The ethics law also prohibits former state employees from benefiting as private citizens from decisions they made previously as state employees. O’Toole violated that provision when he accepted pay from Crest for writing a financial report on a grant he approved while at the public safety agency, the Ethics Commission said.

Jajuga, after leaving the public safety agency in January 2003, collaborated with Crest on some projects. Jajuga’s lawyer, Thomas R. Kiley, said Friday he was ‘‘unaware of any investigative activity implicating James Jajuga.’’

Posted by mbrelis at 9:33 PM | Comments (0)

Woburn mourns a fallen soldier

By Brian R. Ballou
GLOBE STAFF

As a paratrooper for the Army’s 82d Airborne Division, Keith A. Callahan of Woburn often patrolled areas in Iraq that were rife with snipers, insurgents, and roadside bombs. But in four deployments spanning more than two years, the stocky former boxer whose nickname was Bam-Bam had managed to avoid serious injuries, family members said Friday.

Callahan, 31, a sergeant first class and a father of four, was killed last Wednesday in an area south of Baghdad. Callahan had posted himself at a critical road crossing to provide security for his platoon when an improvised explosive device was detonated, killing him, Army officials said Friday.

‘‘We found out the same night,’’ Callahan’s brother, Steven, 36, said by telephone from the family’s house in Woburn. ‘‘Keith’s wife called our mom at midnight. She was screaming that he was dead.’’

Keith Callahan was the first Woburn native killed in active duty since the Vietnam war. As news of his death carried through the community Friday morning, his childhood friends consoled each other, and at Woburn Memorial High School, where he graduated in 1993, several of his former teachers grieved.

‘‘When I heard that he had died, I was devastated,’’ said John Morandi, Keith Callahan’s former wrestling coach. ‘‘He was this little short guy who was just so fast and extremely coachable. He did everything to help out the team, and you could see back then that the military was a great fit for him. It was funny that when other kids complained about having to do more drills, he welcomed it,’’ said Morandi, who retired as wrestling coach several years ago and is a math teacher at the school.

Bob Norton, who became principal at the school after Keith Callahan graduated, said the paratrooper’s name would be added to a memorial at the school for Woburn residents killed in the line of duty since the Revolutionary War. There are more than 200 names on the memorial, the last of which is Corporal Charles McMahon, a Marine killed during the evacuation of Saigon on April 29, 1975. McMahon was one of the last two US servicemen killed in the Vietnam War, according to Army officials.

‘‘We have a lot of kids who are in the military and have been to Iraq, and up to Wednesday, we were very fortunate that none had died,’’ Norton said. ‘‘The school is mourning his loss. All of his brothers and sisters attended this school, so they are very well known here.’’

Keith Callahan, the youngest of eight siblings, also played football and baseball at the school. At 135 pounds and standing 5 feet 5 inches, he became a Golden Gloves boxer, training in a local gym. After he graduated he worked with his brother, Steven, for two years at a local telecommunications company, setting up phone and computer lines. Keith Callahan joined the Army in 1996. He was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he was a two-time boxing champion and earned his nickname, family members said.

‘‘He always wanted to be a soldier,’’ Steven Callahan said. ‘‘When he went to airborne school, he met his wife, Dody. She had twins, a boy and a girl, while he was in Iraq for his second deployment.’’

He will be buried near McClure, Pa., where he lived with his wife and children, but a memorial is being planned next week in his hometown.

‘‘His paramount concern was always his children and family; to include his military family,’’ said a statement issued Friday by Dody Callahan. ‘‘Keith loved his soldiers and his dedication to duty lasted to the end shown by the fact that he gave his life to protect his soldiers.’’

Keith Callahan visited Woburn last summer with his wife and children, and went to a pool party at his brother’s house in Manchester, N.H.
‘‘We also went fishing; he loved to fish,’’ Steven Callahan said. His brother would call from Iraq almost every Sunday. The calls were brief, lasting no more than two minutes. ‘‘He was upbeat and focused on what he was doing over there.’’

Posted by mbrelis at 8:47 PM | Comments (0)

Harvard may announce pick within a week

By Maria Sacchetti
and Marcella Bombardieri
GLOBE STAFF

The search for a new Harvard president could wrap up as early as next weekend. One of the final contenders is Nobel laureate and philanthropic official Thomas R. Cech, while Drew Gilpin Faust, dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, appears to be the leading inside candidate, according to people familiar with the search process.

But the search remains subject to change at any time, and other candidates could suddenly rise to the top, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is intended to be confidential.

Next weekend would be an ideal time for Harvard to announce its pick, because of the regularly scheduled meeting of the board of overseers, a group of roughly 30 alumni whose sign-off is needed on Harvard’s choice. The search committee is made up of the six members of the primary governing board, the Corporation (excluding interim President Derek Bok), and three overseers.

However, the committee is also determined not to rush its decision, said one source. Some critics of former president Lawrence H. Summers have argued that Harvard did not investigate his management style thoroughly enough before choosing him in 2001.

The process, if necessary, could stretch into early March, depending on how background checks go, how long it takes for committee members to make up their minds, and whether the person offered the job accepts.

Spokespeople for Faust and Cech declined to comment Friday. Neither has confirmed or denied interest in the post.

Some members of the search committee would prefer to choose a scientist, one source said, in light of the need for Harvard to vastly expand its scientific initiatives on the new Allston campus as well as in Cambridge.

The Globe previously reported that the short list included Cech, Faust, and two other insiders: Provost Steven E. Hyman, a neuroscientist, and law school dean Elena Kagan.

The short list also includes another illustrious scientist, Harold E. Varmus, a Nobel laureate for cancer research and the president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, said one source. Varmus was also considered in Harvard’s last search. His age, 67, is a concern since Harvard hopes to have a president who would serve for 10 years.
The committee also took a close look at Eric S. Lander, head of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, a biomedical research center, but he doesn’t appear to be a finalist, another source said. Lander was a key figure in mapping the human genome.

Harvard’s search committee has conducted informal interviews with dozens of people over the past year. As the last search wound down, many predicted that Harvard was about to choose Lee C. Bollinger, then president of the University of Michigan, but Summers rose to the top instead. Bollinger is now president of Columbia University.
Cech, 59, is president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the second largest philanthropy in the United States. The institute conducts key scientific and medical research into everything from cancer and Alzheimer’s to the health benefits of red wine.

Cech won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1989 and still runs a laboratory at the University of Colorado at Boulder. It would be very unusual for the president of a large university to maintain an active lab, and some friends question whether Cech would be willing to give up his lab, even to take up the most visible position in higher education.

Faust, also 59, is a prominent historian, focused on the Civil War era, who took the helm at Radcliffe just as the school, once a separate women’s college within Harvard, was reborn as a smaller research institute. She has handled layoffs and smoothed over tensions with some Radcliffe alumnae upset about being absorbed into Harvard College. Both have been praised for their deft management skills, a particular concern for the committee, according to one source.

However, they have not led an organization anywhere near as big as Harvard, nor have they had responsibility for large-scale fund-raising. Both of those are likely to be concerns weighed heavily by the search committee, according to sources.

Posted by mbrelis at 7:59 PM | Comments (0)

State crime lab to get independent audit in DNA scandal

By Globe Staff

The Patrick administration announced today it will conduct an independent audit of the State Police crime laboratory as the fallout continues after revelations earlier this month that DNA was mishandled in at least 15 unsolved rape cases.

The Executive Office of Public Safety is looking for a private consulting firm to review "all operational aspects, practices, policies, and procedures" of the crime lab and recommend improvements. Robert E. Pino, the civilian administrator of the DNA database at the State Police forensic laboratory, was suspended after he was accused of failing to report matches in the 11 rape cases until the statute of limitations had expired. Pino is also accused of reporting four test results incorrectly.

State Police Superintendent Colonel Mark Delaney wrote a letter on Jan. 23 specifically requesting an independent review.

"In light of the recently discovered administrative process failures found at the crime lab, both Colonel Delaney and I believe it is prudent for us to conduct a review of the entire operation," said Kevin M. Burke, the Secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety, in a statement. "While the science of DNA is indisputable, we have a duty to ensure that the Commonwealth can have a similar level of confidences in the administrative processes we employ."

The department is looking for a company that will perform a four month review for $250,000. Proposals are due at 3 p.m. on Feb. 23 and the review is expected to begin on March 5.

The announcement that there will be an independent review all the forensic services provided by the state police comes after the FBI had already launched an audit of the lab's DNA database. However, at least one defense attorney working on a high profile case that involves DNA had called for an independent review because he said the FBI had its own problems with DNA analysis in recent years and lacked credibility.

That lawyer, Elliot M. Weinstein, is defending Neil Entwistle, who is accused of fatally shooting his wife and infant daughter. Prosecutors say the crime lab matched DNA found on a gun to Entwistle. Weinstein unsuccessfully asked a judge last fall to toss out the DNA evidence.

Another defense attorney, Robert A. George, said earlier this week that he expects that the scandal at the lab will form the basis of challenges in two of his high-profile murder cases: Christopher M. McCowen's conviction in November of the murder of Christa Worthington, and Edward S. O'Brien's 1997 conviction in the slaying of his best friend's mother.

Posted by aryan at 5:20 PM | Comments (0)

Man walks across state, gets five minutes with governor

(Worcester Telegram & Gazette file photo)

BJ Hill took a break along Route 9 in West Brookfield in October during his 25-day walk across the state.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Some would call BJ Hill a determined man. Others might say he's just plain stubborn. Either way, on Monday morning he will get what he wanted: five minutes of Governor Deval Patrick's time.

Hill, a 30-year-old special education teacher from Cambridge, walked some 260 miles across Massachusetts during last fall's gubernatorial campaign, from Williamstown in the northwest corner out to the end of Cape Cod. Along the way, Hill asked people to write snippets of advice for the state's next chief executive in a black spiral notebook.

By the time Hill reached Provincetown, more than 225 people had scribbled in his notebook, penning suggestions that ranged from building a state casino to helping the elderly pay for prescription drugs. Patrick won the Nov. 7 election by a landslide, and Hill e-mailed his transition team to set up a time to present the notebook, which he saw as a collection of voices from people living outside Boston who often get ignored by Beacon Hill.

The governor was busy with the inauguration, Hill said he was told, and didn't have time for a meeting. Patrick's staff suggested he mail the notebook to the governor.

"I was kind of adverse to that because I wanted the notebook to get to him and not an aide or an intern," Hill said in a telephone interview.

He kept pushing for a face-to-face meeting. He turned to state Senator Edward M. Augustus Jr., who represents Leicester, where Hill grew up.

On Jan. 17 -- some two months after he first started pestering Patrick's staff -- Hill finally got the phone call. On Monday, he will get exactly five minutes with Patrick in the governor's office, from 9:30 a.m. to 9:35 a.m.

"It will be a private meeting between the two of them," said Jose Martinez, a spokesman for the governor, adding that, "It will be brief."

Hill said: "I would have liked a little more time, but the important thing is that he gets the messages in the book, not meet me."

His 25-day walk across Massachusetts stretched from Petersburg Pass on the New York border and culminated at the beach at Long Point on the tip of Provincetown. It began on Oct. 4, motivated at first by unemployment and a relationship that had gone sour.

After walking a few days, Hill noticed campaign signs in people's lawns but felt what he described as a palpable disconnect between rural residents and the race for the governor's office. He bought a notebook and a pen and found his calling.

Hill refused to identify any of the people who scribbled advice in the notebook by name because he said he wanted to protect their privacy. He is scanning images of the pages and posting them on his website.

A grandmother in Wareham wrote in black ink that she and her husband were raising their grandson and needed help with food stamps and clothing. A writer in Barnstable urged the new governor to "educate children instead of testing them."

In Brewster, someone wrote that the new governor should be proud that Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriage. A woman in Williamstown lobbied for more funding for health care for seniors.

"These messages probably aren't going to change the world or anything," said Hill, who found work teaching at Winchester High School after his walk. "I'd like to think that some day Governor Patrick will open up this notebook and remember the people he's representing."

"On the other end of things," Hill continued, "I feel like I've given the people who wrote in this notebook hope that there are politicians who still listen."

Posted by aryan at 2:34 PM | Comments (0)

Manchester, N.H. police commemorate fallen officer

(Janet Knott/Globe Staff)

Manchester, N.H., police Officer Michael Bergeron held a boxed flag today in memory of Officer Michael L. Briggs, who prosecutors allege was shot and killed by a former Boston resident who was arrested in an apartment in Dorchester.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The Manchester Police Department today retired the badge of Officer Michael L. Briggs, who was shot to death while on duty in New Hampshire's largest city Oct. 17.

A five year veteran who was decorated for heroism for helping rescue people from a burning building in 2004, Briggs wore badge number 83. That number will never be assigned to another officer.

Chief John A. Jaskolka said the badge and other mementos of Briggs will be kept in what he called the department's "Hall of Fame" at the Chestnut Street headquarters.

"From this point forward, we are celebrating the life who Mike Briggs was," Jaskolka told the Globe in a telephone interview today.

Prosecutors have charged a former Boston resident with shooting Briggs at 3 a.m. as the officer was investigating a domestic violence complaint. Michael "Stix" Addison pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and is being held without bail in New Hampshire. Authorities are seeking the death penalty.

Governor John Lynch said at the ceremony that Briggs' badge should be retired because the officer who once wore it was unique.

"His service cannot be replicated," the governor said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks provided by his staff. "Just as Michael was unique, Badge number 83 is uniquely his ... He patrolled these streets with honor, dignity and courage. He was a hero in his professional life, and as his family can tell you, he was a hero in his personal life."

A plague and photograph of Briggs will greet visitors in the lobby of police headquarters, joining tributes to the three other Manchester officers who died in the line of duty, the chief said.

Briggs' widow, Laura, was presented with the American flag that flew over headquarters on Oct. 17, the day her husband was murdered.

Briggs served in the Marine Corps and his family was also given a US Marine Corps flag that flew over the New Hampshire state house for the past several years, the department said.

After his death, Briggs was awarded the Medal of Valor, the highest municipal honor.

Before joining the department, Briggs worked as a correction officer for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department and was the father of two sons.

"He was a loving husband ... He was involved with his family, he was involved with his kids," said the chief. "Mike was a great guy."

Posted by aryan at 2:13 PM | Comments (0)

Cold turns boiling water to snow and keeps the MBTA up all night

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent

On days as cold as today on the top of Mount Washington, a pan of boiling water thrown into the air will turn to snow before it hits the ground.

Crowbars used to clear ice off meteorological instruments snap in half like twigs.

Neil Lareau, the weather observer on duty today atop the mountain, wore three ski-masks, a pair of goggles, and a Gore-Tex hood just to step outside to take the temperature.

That's because a new record low for Jan. 26 was set today at the Mount Washington Observatory when it stayed 32.5 degrees below zero for more than four hours this morning. Add sustained winds of 67 mph, and the wind chill at the summit hit minus 83 degrees.

"We live for days like today," said Lareau, 26, who is one of six people stationed at the observatory this week. "We kind of thrive on having this reputation for the world's worst weather."

This is the coldest week of the year on Mount Washington with an average temperature of 5 degrees above zero. Jan. 25 is typically the coldest day of the year with an average temperature of 4 degrees, Lareau said.

In Boston, the MBTA had extra crews working through the night to power up trains to keep air hoses from freezing. Workers opened and closed the doors of subway cars and flipped track switches, exercising the moving parts so the machinery wouldn't seize, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

Trains were kept inside tunnels overnight for protection from the elements. Other crews took turns starting each MBTA bus once every two hours and let the engines run for 15 minutes.

"We have precise procedures for what ever weather New England brings us," said Pesaturo, adding that there were no significant problems during this morning's commute.

Even the new CharlieCard fare boxes were working properly today after dozens malfunctioned in cold weather last week and forced drivers to allow riders to board for free. The manufacturer isolated the problem to a specific circuit board and was busy replacing the faulty parts, Pesaturo said.

There are some places, however, where today's frigid temperatures were just fine.

At Franklin Park Zoo, reindeer and bears were strutting outside in thick fur coats. Even peacocks, two-humped camels, and other warmer weather animals can be seen wandering the zoo grounds "oblivious" to the elements, said John Linehan, president and CEO of Zoo New England.

The staff consciously feeds the animals extra food to fatten them up for the brutal New England winters, Linehan said.

Posted by aryan at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)

Man, not wearing seat belt, dies in I-195 crash

By Globe Staff

A 25-year-old New Bedford man who police say was not wearing a seat belt died this morning when the car he was driving rolled over on Interstate 195.

Ricardo Cabral was driving a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta east near Exit 18 in Fairhaven when he lost control, according to a press release from State Police. The car veered off the right shoulder of the road, hit a sign, and rolled over, coming to a rest in nearby woods.

Cabral was thrown from the car. He was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford and pronounced dead.

Speed appears to have played a role in the crash, which remains under investigation by State Police.

Posted by aryan at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

Emergency numbers for cold weather

No heat hotline
Tenant's heat should be 68 degrees during the day and 64 degrees at night. If landlords don't comply, tenants can call the city's "No Heat" hotline number at 617-635-5300 or 617-635-4500 after hours.

Heating assistance
Action for Boston Community Development -- 617-357-6012.

Complaints about oil dealer's service
Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing -- 617-635-3834.

Other issues
Boston’s 24-Hour Constituent Services line -- 617-635-4500

Posted by aryan at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)

Massachusetts shivers with wind chills of -15

(Globe Staff / Mark Wilson)

Xiao Yan Cheng braved the frigid temperatures this morning as she walked pass Lowell City Hall.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Your thermometer isn't broken. It's that cold.

An arctic air mass transformed New England into a frozen tundra this morning, with 20 mph gusts pushing the wind chill down as low as minus 15 degrees in Boston.

The coldest place in Massachusetts overnight was Worthington, in the foothills of the Berkshires, where the temperature bottomed out at minus seven degrees.

Atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire, the weather observatory measured a temperature of minus 30 degrees at 8:15 a.m. A 65 mph northwest wind on the summit made it feel like minus 78 degrees.

"This is the worst of it, this morning," said Bill Simpson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

At Logan International Airport, the low was 3 degrees above zero. The record low temperature in Boston for Jan. 26 is zero degrees set in 1927.

Still, it was warmer this morning in Fairbanks, Alaska, at 11 degrees than it was in the Hub. (Barrow, in northern Alaska on the Arctic Ocean, had Boston beat at minus 29 degrees before the wind chill.)

The bitter cold should remain in Boston throughout the day with the temperature never getting far above 10 degrees, Simpson said. Overnight the winds should die down, and on Saturday the temperature should reach the mid 20s. By Sunday, it could get as warm as 30 degrees, Simpson said.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino urged people to take precautions against the cold. Outreach teams from the city and Pine Street Inn will have extra vans out on the streets and will implore the homeless to stay in shelters, which will be open 24 hours a day during the extreme weather. The city's Commission on the Affairs of the Elderly has been calling home bound seniors to check on the elderly.

The Boston Fire Department reminded people to never use an oven as a source of heat or leave burning candles unattended. Electric heaters should be kept at least three feet away from combustible materials and should never be left on while people are sleeping.

Posted by aryan at 9:05 AM | Comments (0)

January 25, 2007

Parents, students, officials huddle after murder in school

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff and Kristen Green, Globe Correspondent

SUDBURY -- An overflow crowd of somber residents came to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Thursday night, seeking to understand how the school's seeming safety was shattered when a 15-year-old freshman was stabbed to death last week and a special needs student was charged in the killing.

But school and town officials had no ready answers, only promises to thoroughly investigate school policies as they analyze what led to the Jan. 19 killing of James Alenson. Fellow student John Odgren, 16, of Princeton, who was enrolled in a program monitoring special education students with emotional or behavioral problems, was charged with fatally stabbing Alenson in a boys' bathroom.

"Tonight we are here because one of our own was killed here in this school," Sarah Cannon-Holden, chairwoman of the Lincoln Board of Selectmen, told the crowd of about 1,000. "We mourn his death, and we'll do our best to learn from this tragedy."

She said a panel of citizens and officials would examine: "What happened? How could it have happened? Did we miss something? How can we prevent such violence from happening again?"

The review committee will include police officers, members of Lincoln and Sudbury Boards of Selectmen and School Committee members, any outside agencies that might provide help, and parents. The panel is to issue recommendations after conducting a comprehensive review.

In a lengthy e-mail to parents and students Wednesday, the high school principal, John Ritchie, seemed to expect criticism from frightened and angry parents.

Thursday night, he told the hushed crowd, "I and we need to look at this thing as closely as we can to see if there is anything we should have and could have done differently."

Ritchie said he wants the review committee to include members of the public who are not directly involved with the school, so the public will take its findings seriously.

"If you don't have other eyes looking at things, you can miss things," he said. "We want to make sure that it's representative and that it's credible."

Ritchie did not provide specific details about the committee's focus. He said the idea is to examine as much as possible about the school and its policies, including the screening process for Greater Opportunities, the special needs program Odgren belonged to, and whether students were effectively encouraged to talk openly with administrators.

Ritchie also defended the GO program, saying it does not serve students with "hostile tendencies" but emotionally fragile youngsters who require special attention.

One parent Thursday night cited a state report written about in the Globe, which described Odgren's behavioral problems at schools before he arrived at Lincoln-Sudbury, where he had been a sophomore.

"Until we find answers for how that kid passed through the cracks, I will not feel safe for my daughter," said Rich Newman, whose child is a freshman at the high school.

Edward Orenstein, director of the Concord Area Special Education Collaborative, which placed Odgren in GO, said he was not aware of the report when the boy was admitted. "There was nothing in the record about dangerous or violent behavior," he told the crowd.

He also said he was told by someone with knowledge of the state report that the incidents of physically aggressive behavior included throwing a book off a desk and kicking a fellow student in the shins. The report, obtained by the Globe, did not provide specific details about Odgren's behavior.

"All I can say is there is far more of a context than what was reported" in the Globe, he said. He did not provide more details.

School officials invited area religious leaders, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr., area police officers, and special education specialists to speak at the meeting to provide students, parents, and other community members information about the school's response to the stabbing.

Emily Hinteregger, a senior from Sudbury, told the crowd she felt secure coming back to school on Monday. "I can't emphasize enough how much the teachers look after the students," she told the audience of mostly parents. "There is no other place I wanted to be besides school because I wanted to be with my peers. I feel safe with my peers."

Patricia Wen of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)

Dog binds convict, guardsman

By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff

FRAMINGHAM -- The wounded soldier and the convicted murderer, sitting side by side in the women’s prison, smiled at the colorful scrapbook images of the doting 2-year-old that links them.

That 2-year-old, a black Labrador named Dace, dozed Thursday beside Specialist Raymond Hubbard, whose left leg, right elbow, and carotid artery were ripped open by an artillery shell last Fourth of July near Baghdad.

Hubbard, a father of two young boys, looked ahead to bringing Dace home to Wisconsin Friday to help him navigate the new, daunting obstacles he will face.

"She’ll be a big part of my life," said the 28-year-old Army National Guard member, whose leg has been amputated below the knee. "She’ll be at my side when I go out in public. She’ll help me with my balance, and she’ll get things on the floor when I can’t."

Barbara A. Goucher, convicted of second-degree murder in the 1998 stabbing death of Florence Munroe in Gloucester, cried as she looked at the dog she spent a year helping train in a unique program that matches disabled Iraq veterans with service dogs.

Goucher, 41, said the chance to work with Dace helped bring focus to her life in prison and gave her a sense of responsibility to others.

"I’ve done a complete turnaround," said Goucher, who has been behind bars for almost nine years and said she will not be eligible for parole for six more. "I think that I’m a better person today."

When she’s released, Goucher said, she’d like to work with animals.

At a ceremony Thursday marking Dace’s transfer to Hubbard, state Correction Commissioner Kathleen M. Dennehy praised the dog-training program, which some critics had said should be limited to inmates about to be released.

"At the end of the day, we are all human beings," she said. "And all human beings are entitled to respect and dignity."

The matching program, called Canines for Combat Veterans, is the only one of its kind in the country, according to the dog-training organization in Princeton that created it. Hubbard, who spent five months in Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., is the second wounded veteran to receive a service dog through the program.

Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at macquarrie@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)

Andover man accused of bilking elderly out of $2M

By David Abel, GLOBE STAFF

A 38-year-old Andover man spent much of the last year living large, allegedly buying a top-of-the-line Mercedes, a BMW, and a Range Rover, and dropping $5,000 a day at a local strip club.

And prosecutors said Thursday that he paid for the high life by defrauding senior citizens of $2 million, telling them he was investing their life savings.

John A. Baldo, who was previously convicted of forgery and fraud with a credit card, told victims in Massachusetts and Connecticut that he was a certified financial adviser who worked for an investment firm called Freedom Financial.

He told them that "if they invested their money with him, they would enjoy handsome returns," Melissa A. Valera, an FBI agent, said in a sworn statement. "He told them that if they liquidated their assets and their bank accounts, he would consolidate their funds in an annuity account, from which they would receive generous periodic distributions. He told them they could trust him and that their money would be safe."

Baldo, arrested Thursday at the Las Vegas airport after his arrival from Boston, is to appear today in federal court in Nevada on charges of wire fraud, prosecutors said. He will be sent back to Boston to face the charges, they said.

Baldo first came to the attention of federal officials in November 2005, when Martina Evans, 75, of Boxford, alerted her son, who worked for the FBI, after she discovered that Baldo allegedly had forged her signature on a check for $20,000. She had previously purchased a life insurance policy and annuity from Baldo, who had said he worked for an established insurance company.

He later told her he had become an independent consultant and said that the previous check she had written had not been processed.

"He was attractive, well spoken, and seemed to be very knowledgeable," Evans, who got her money back, said in a telephone interview. "I was very fortunate."

Valera said that between November 2005 and December 2006, based on Baldo’s promises, two brothers from Connecticut gave him a combined $1.8 million and a woman from Rockport gave him $200,000 from her savings.

Rather than investing the money, prosecutors allege, Baldo spent it all: on luxury cars, gambling, nightclub visits, trips to Las Vegas, and lavish gifts for dancers at strip clubs, as well as everyday living expenses.

In 2006, he paid $150,954 for a 2006 Mercedes Benz SLK600R; $101,152 for a 2006 Land Rover Range Rover; and $59,444 for a BMW 330, prosecutors said. They said he spent $297,690 gambling, and bought a Jacob World watch for $37,800, a seven-heart diamond necklace for $23,100, and a Cartier diamond and gold bracelet for $9,633, among other items.

An informant at the Cabaret Lounge in Peabody told Valera that Baldo often gave dancers $100 bills and spent about $5,000 a day at the club. "Baldo took several of the dancers on a trip to Las Vegas in the beginning of May 2006 and bought them luxuries such as Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton handbags," Valera said in her statement.

A man who answered the phone at the Cabaret Lounge last night declined to comment.

A woman reached at Baldo’s Andover home Thursday identified herself as his wife but did not want to comment.

Other alleged victims include an 88-year-old man in Storrs, Conn., who gave Baldo $1.6 million, and his 85-year-old brother, also of Connecticut, who gave him $200,000, prosecutors said. They could not be reached last night.

Prosecutors said Baldo stole another $200,000 from a 63-year-old Rockport woman, who asked that her name not be published.

"I’m crushed," she said in a phone interview last night.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick hangs portrait of Civil War-era governor in office

(Jonathan Wiggs/ Globe Staff)

Governor Deval Patrick today in his office today pointed to the recently hung portrait of Governor John Albion Andrew, a abolitionist who helped activate the U.S. Army's first all-black regiments during the Civil War.

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick seized another opportunity to educate the public about the state's African-American history today when he unveiled the portrait of one of his predecessors he chose to hang above the fire place in his State House office.

Governor John Albion Andrew led Massachusetts during the Civil War. Showing off his painting to reporters in his office high over Beacon Street today, Patrick said that Andrew shocked Boston's elite by accepting the invitation to have Thanksgiving dinner at the Beacon Hill home of Lewis Hayden, a free black man who escaped from slavery and became an abolitionist. At the dinner, Patrick said, Hayden persuaded Andrew that black men should be allowed to fight in the Union Army, and he urged Andrew to take the idea to President Lincoln.

Andrew agreed and played a critical role in the activation of the 54th and 55th Regiments, the Army's first all-black regiments, Patrick said.

"It seemed Governor Andrew would be a fitting partner to keep me company here in the governor's office," Patrick said.

Patrick, the state's first African-American governor, took his oath of office on the Mendi Bible, which was given to John Quincy Adams by a group of African captives who staged a mutiny on the slave ship Amistad. Adams, a lawyer, persuaded the US Supreme Court to free the men.

Patrick learned about both Governor Andrew and the Mendi Bible from Beverly A. Morgan-Welch, executive director of the Museum of African American History on Beacon Hill and a co-chair of Patrick's inaugural committee.

Tradition has each Massachusetts governor select a portrait of a former governor whom he admires to adorn his office walls.

Posted by aryan at 5:09 PM | Comments (0)

Man with air pistol urges Yarmouth police to shoot

By Globe Staff

Yarmouth police faced some tense moments overnight on Cape Cod when they said a suicidal man with a gun asked officers to shoot him.

Police responded to a call at about 11:35 p.m. from a 41-year-old man who claimed he was armed and wanted to be shot, according to a press release.

A patrol officer found the man in the parking lot of the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce. Police converged on the man and safely took him into custody.

Police said the man admitted that he was the caller and told officers where he had dropped his weapon. A search of the area uncovered a black Beretta 92F air pistol, police said.

Officers determined that the man was intoxicated and despondent. He had written a four-page suicide note in which he described his problems and apologized to the police officer who he believed was going to shoot him.

The West Yarmouth man was taken by ambulance to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis for a mental health evaluation.

Posted by aryan at 3:19 PM | Comments (0)

Superintendent braces for tough questions tonight at Lincoln-Sudbury

(Janet Knott/Globe Staff)

Superintendent and Principal John Ritchie wrote a letter to parents at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School saying he was ready for "tough questions" about last Friday’s fatal stabbing at school.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Principal John Ritchie plans tonight to announce the formation of a team of town officials, school administrators, and local police to review last week's fatal stabbing at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School that left one student dead and another facing a first-degree murder charge.

Ritchie, who is also superintendent of the regional high school system, sent a letter home to parents that said that the school must, "review this tragedy, and determine what we need to, or can, learn from it."

Officials plan to make the announcement at a community meeting that will include school committee members, public safety officials, and Middlesex District Attorney Gerald T. Leone Jr. The meeting, at 7:30 p.m. at the high school auditorium in Sudbury, promises to bring difficult questions about school safety and early warning signs the accused killer may have shown when he attended Caldwell Alternative School in Fitchburg.

"Don't hold back your questions, even if they are tough ones," Ritchie wrote in the letter to parents. He added: "I don't view people asking tough questions of us, or wanting answers, or wanting to know clearly what steps we are planning on taking, or expressing anger, as being unsupportive.

"It is natural, understandable," Ritchie continued. "I -- as a parent myself -- would feel I'm sure many of the same fears and doubts as you may be feeling after what happened on Friday."

Prosecutors charged 16-year-old John Odgren with first-degree murder after they allege he stabbed James F. Alenson, 15, in a bathroom at Lincoln-Sudbury early last Friday morning. Odgren pleaded not guilty to the charges. The state medical examiner performed an autopsy and announced today that Alenson's death was a homicide caused by multiple stab wounds.

The community and the students have rallied together, Ritchie told parents in the letter, and have leaned on each other.

"In profound ways, your children have helped me and us get through these past days, and I am deeply sorry that they have had to deal with something that no one should have to deal with," the letter says.

Regardless, Ritchie wrote that the school needs to examine its programs, policies, practices, and procedures with "unblinking eyes to determine what, if anything we've learned, and what we can or should do differently."

Posted by aryan at 2:33 PM | Comments (0)

House holds child abuse hearings sparked by Haleigh Poutre case

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and the Associated Press

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi offered a startling fact today about Massachusetts at the first meeting of a new legislative panel to investigate child abuse.

"The number of children confirmed as abused and neglected – 35,214 children – would fill Fenway Park," DiMasi told the 11-member committee, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.

The abuse that terrorized three of those children -- Haleigh Poutre, Dontel Jeffers, Liam Garvey -- sparked outrage as details from their cases flashed across television screens and were printed in newspapers. Poutre's case in particular prompted action after authorities say the 11-year-old girl was beaten into a coma by her adoptive mother and stepfather.

The new panel, formally named the House Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, heard testimony today from officials and experts during a four-hour hearing on Beacon Hill. The committee will evaluate the failures and successes of the state's child welfare system, weighing the balance between protecting children and family perseveration.

The panel will also discuss the Commonwealth's role as a guardian when the state must make end-of-life judgments. Haleigh was almost killed by a premature decision to withdraw her life support.

An earlier team of specialists appointed by Governor Mitt Romney blamed the mistake on flawed or insufficient information given to government agencies and medical specialists. It has been recommended that the Department of Social Services revamp protocols for tracking complex cases and handling end-of-life decisions.

This morning, DiMasi cited the Massachusetts Children's Trust Fund and said that the rate of confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in Massachusetts is twice the national average.

"Our children deserve to be cared for," the speaker told the committee. "They deserve to be protected and they deserve to be free from the fear and risk of being harmed."

DSS Commissioner Harry Spence acknowledged that cases such as Haleigh's grab public attention. But he said only about 100 of the 28,000 families DSS works with involve cases of grave danger to a child.

He said Massachusetts has the second-lowest rate of death among child abuse victims, behind only New Hampshire, and the vast majority of cases his agency handles involve neglect such as failure to ensure a child is properly fed, bathed or supervised.

But he said every case of abuse is cause for concern. He said social workers must answer the complicated question of when a child should be taken from abusive parents as opposed remaining in the home while their parents work with therapists to improving their parenting capabilities. He said a Wisconsin study showed one-third of children permanently separated from their parents end up in homeless shelters within three years of leaving state custody at age 18.

"If we remove them from their families and release them as lost souls, we've saved their lives by destroying them," Spence told the committee's inaugural hearing.

He advocated the end of a system where a single social worker is responsible for carrying a caseload of 18-to-20 families. He used the example of hospitals that have moved toward a team approach to medical treatment, saying, "It's like medicine. Much of it is art, not science."

He said the single social worker approach grew out of administrators' desires to scapegoat people in the event of a case like Haleigh's.

"We did it as part of punitive accountability, to be able to nail somebody when something went wrong," he said.

Spence recommended forming partnerships with schools, saying teachers often notice the signs of neglect or abuse -- be it psychological or physical -- two or three years before DSS becomes involved with a family. By that time, Spence said, children's scars may me permanent.

In return, he said, DSS and state mental health services could assist schools in dealing with children who have aggressive behavior problems.

Spence said DSS has partnered with Salem State College and University of Massachusetts Medical Center to provide ongoing training for its social workers. But he said the current social workers' exam, which a person is required to pass before being hired by DSS, is inadequate. He characterized the test as being "about marriage counseling in Newton, not about child welfare work."

Among others who testified were Health and Human Services Secretary Judy Ann Bigby and Department of Mental Health Commissioner Elizabeth Childs.

Childs said the answer to the question of when should a child be taken from his or her parents is not an easy one.

"The simple answer is do what's in the best interest of the child. The complicated answer is, what is that?" Childs said. "Children come into this world with differing vulnerabilities and levels of resiliency."

The committee is to hear more testimony on Jan. 30 and Feb. 6.

Posted by aryan at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

HOV lane reopens for first time since Big Dig collapse

By Globe Staff

A short section of a car-pool lane on northbound Interstate 93 reopened early this morning for the first time since the fatal ceiling collapse in a Big Dig tunnel last July.

The high occupancy vehicle or HOV lane is just north of Exit 20 and provides access to the South Station and Kneeland Street. Vehicles with two or more passengers and buses may use the HOV lane.

The short section of roadway had been closed to manage traffic flow as repairs were made in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel. On July 10, a massive ceiling panel fell, crushing a car and killing Milena Del Valle of Jamaica Plain.

The remainder of the HOV lane, which provides access to Interstate 90 East and Logan International Airport, will remain closed to traffic until repairs are completed this spring.

Posted by aryan at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

N.H. man accused of fatally stabbing father, self

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A man accused of fatally stabbing his 57-year-old father in their Nashua, N.H. home overnight is being held this morning in a Massachusetts hospital while he recovers from self-inflicted knife wounds.

According to the New Hampshire state Attorney general's office, Ian Delmore, 21, is accused of attacking his father, Noel Delmore, in their home in Nashua at about 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Ian Delmore then turned the knife on himself.

"He inflicted serious injuries" on himself, said Assistant Attorney General Charles Keefe, who declined to identify the Massachusetts hospital where the suspect is being held. Keefe added: "At this time, the injuries do not appear life threatening."

His father, Noel Delmore, was flown to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where he died.

Nashua District Court has issued a second-degree murder warrant for Ian Delmore's arrest. Once he is well enough to leave the hospital, Ian Delmore must be extradited back to New Hampshire, Keefe said.

Posted by aryan at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2007

Group calls for delay in part of universal health insurance law

By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff

An advocacy group urged the state Wednesday to delay a key part of the new universal health insurance law, saying that a survey shows that many families cannot afford even subsidized insurance.

The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, which pressed for passage of the law, said the state should not impose penalties for at least a year on low- and moderate-income people who fail to obtain insurance by the July 1 deadline.

Governor Deval Patrick declined to take a position on the proposed change, but he met with the group Wednesday, signaling growing concern among state leaders about the affordability of health insurance plans being established under the new law.

"We are committed to doing anything we can, working with providers, to deliver affordable options," Patrick said in a statement after the meeting.

Administration and Finance Secretary Leslie Kirwan, who is overseeing implementation, said, "It’s very premature to talk about changing the law."

Leaders of the interfaith group want the change to ease pressure on about 300,000 individuals earning up to $49,000 a year, who the advocates said face the greatest challenge in paying for insurance. The one-year delay would allow time to negotiate better, less-expensive insurance and could ultimately help ensure the success of the law, the group’s leaders said.

"You only get to do this once with the public, and if you get it wrong it’s going to blow up," said the Rev. Hurmon Hamilton, pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church and president of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, a coalition of 65 religious congregations, labor unions, and community groups. "People will not permit the Commonwealth to force them into deeper debt."

Senator Richard T. Moore, cochairman of the Legislature’s Committee on Health Care Financing, and Richard Lord, president of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, said the penalty delay is worth considering, particularly if insurers do not cut prices and if many people decline to sign up for subsidized plans.

"Assuming we validate ... [the interfaith organization’s] numbers, we might want to ease the penalties for a year or two to see how the market shakes out," said Moore.

But Representative Patricia A. Walrath, Moore’s counterpart in the House, said she doesn’t think the answer is eliminating the penalty for a majority of people.

The interfaith organization made its case with data from a survey it conducted of 367 people with low and moderate incomes who attended the group’s workshops and shared details of their income and expenses. The information is the first on what state residents can afford, but it’s unclear whether the results are representative of the Commonwealth. Most of the people had insurance, but many were at risk of losing it because of unstable job situations.

Nearly one-half of those with incomes low enough to qualify for state-subsidized insurance did not have enough discretionary income to afford the monthly premiums, which range from $18 to $106 for an individual, the survey found.

Nearly 40 percent of those with incomes between 300 and 500 percent of the poverty level could not afford the $380 per month premium plus out-of-pocket costs discussed by state officials last week. Several state officials said they hoped to bring that cost closer to $250 per month, but the survey found that 28 percent of those eligible could not afford that lower cost either.

Alice Dembner can be reached at Dembner@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)

Council approves gunfire detection equipment

By Suzanne Smalley and April Simpson, GLOBE STAFF

The City Council on Wednesday approved a $1.5 million budget request from the mayor, putting highly-touted acoustic gunshot detection technology which proponents say will help police solve more violent crimes on a fast track to city streets.

Boston Police Superintendent Robert Dunford said in an interview that the department will immediately launch an open bidding process and hopes to have the technology up and running by this summer.

The move comes as Mayor Thomas M. Menino faces intensifying pressure to answer a surge in firearm violence, including the slayings of two 14-year-olds and one 13-year-old since Dec. 22.

But even as the council approved the budget request, some councilors expressed reservations about the project and accused the mayor of forcing the council to go along with his agenda without debate.

Councilor Charles Yancey of Dorchester questioned whether the technology’s capabilities have been oversold by a police department hunting for answers to the city’s crime problems. He also said many areas could benefit from the technology and questioned why police have focused on saturating only a 5.6-square-mile swath of the city with the detectors.

"This is not a silver bullet," Yancey said. "It’s gonna cover a specific geography and we have had shootings in every district of the city of Boston."

Councilor Sam Yoon, of Chinatown, said he supports the project but said the mayor is rushing the council to make a decision.

"There’s a need for a comprehensive plan (to fight crime) instead of a piecemeal approach," Yoon said in an interview. "Every decision we make about a dollar we spend is a dollar we don’t spend on something else."

Councilor Robert Consalvo of Hyde Park, who first introduced the idea of buying acoustic gunshot sensors, dismissed the criticisms as "petty politics."

"This was an 11-month process where we had two public hearings, two live demonstrations and its been all over the news," Consalvo said. "There is a responsibility on the part of my colleagues to get involved."

Community leaders who have been pressuring the administration to do more to combat gun violence Wednesday applauded the council’s decision to quickly approve the budget request. Davida Andelman, chairwoman of the Greater Bowdoin-Geneva Neighborhood Association, said she believes the technology will help reduce crime.

"For the police to be able to hone in on where gun violence is taking place in a matter of seconds and minutes makes a big difference," said Andelman, who lives across the street from where 14-year-old Jason Fernandes was fatally shot just hours into the New Year.

"I hear, three or four times a week, shots fired, and I don’t even bother calling 911 because I can’t tell where the shots are being fired," Andelman said.

Smalley can be reached at ssmalley@globe.com. Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)

Blacksmiths keep commuters on the move

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

EVERETT -- Working amid roaring furnaces and rusty anvils, blacksmiths forge hot steel into switch sticks, pole clamps, shepherd sticks, and other spare parts that long ago stopped being manufactured.

But these are not shipbuilders or ironworkers. These are some of the MBTA’s six blacksmiths, all working harder than ever to keep Boston’s aging trains, trolleys, and buses running.

"Things are getting crazy around here," said Michael DiClemente, 39, of Medford, whose father was also a smith.

As the T fixes the ancient Mattapan trolley line, its President’s Conference Committee cars, delivered in 1945 and 1946, are getting new parts, many made and hammered by hand in the blacksmith and metal shops.

"You just can’t buy them, so we have to make them," said Fred Rooney, section chief of the T’s Everett Main Repair Facility, a modern brick building the size of an airplane hangar.

Traction motors from the aging Red and Orange Line cars are spread through the warehouse. The facility rebuilt 357 such motors in the last three years; the blacksmiths crafted the crucial mounts to link motor to chassis.

As the T prepared for winter, when aging motors often clog with ice, the shop received an order to rebuild 34 Orange Line traction motors in a week. This month, the blacksmiths are rebuilding 53 motors for the Red Line.

"Tell me what you want built -- it doesn’t matter -- and I will have it built out of the Everett shops in three days," said Daniel A. Grabauskas, the T’s general manager. "Some of the basic, centuries-old skills are still needed to keep the MBTA running."

In 1995, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority got rid of its blacksmiths while trying to save costs. Over the following five years, however, they were hired back, their jobs too important to the health of the 110-year-old system.

They continue to use equipment that hasn’t changed much in centuries. Their desks are blast furnaces that can reach 2,300 degrees. The shop’s air-power hammer, which can flatten hot steel, dates from the 1950s. At one point there was a metal press from the 1890s, complete with a dangerous and unpredictable flywheel that could make a safety inspector faint.

"It’s a living organism out there," Rooney said, standing Wednesday in a graveyard of bent and broken trolley pantographs, the wire and metal apparatus that connects a trolley to overhead power lines. "The rails move, the metal expands and contracts. Things break. It’s like running a train on a dinosaur’s back."

"And we can repair it all," said Buddy Pickman, his foreman and blacksmith.

T officials say the blacksmiths’ work is also a way to cut costs.

Switch sticks, long metal poles used to manually shift track switches, are continually lost or broken by workers. Rather than spending thousands to have them manufactured and delivered from elsewhere, the T can do it with spare metal rods and the blacksmiths, Rooney said.

The blacksmiths also make shepherd sticks, used to pry bus tires off their rims, so the T doesn’t have to buy them.

"If you walk through this place, we touch every part that’s in here," said DiClemente, as Peter Genna, 29, of Bradford, finished pressing metal rectangles into pole brackets unique to the Blue Line.

Pickman and Rooney supervise two young welders who are learning the trade, but there’s some concern that no one else is coming forward.

"It’s kind of a lost art," said Thomas Long, a supervisor at the shop.

The T blacksmiths are members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, who in the mid-1980s represented 33,850 workers. But much of the work has since gone overseas.

"When we had our 2001 convention, that number was down to 1,800," said Jim Pressley, assistant to the union president.

At the last union convention DiClemente attended last summer, he said he met no one representing blacksmiths.

"People still think blacksmiths only shoe horses," DiClemente said. "We don’t. We’re metal draftsmen. We’re unique."

Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:51 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. fire deaths hit record low in 2006

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Fire deaths hit a new low in Massachusetts in 2006, dropping to a nadir not seen since at least World War II, when the state first began compiling records. There were 43 fire deaths last year, down from the previous low of 52 set in 2004 and 2005, according to statistics released today by the state fire marshal's office.

"I attribute it to two major factors: technology and education," State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said today in a telephone interview.

The statistics show that the early warning from smoke detectors help more people survive fires, Coan said. In Massachusetts, the fire marshal's office also administers the Student Awareness of Fire Education program, which encourages children to urge their parents to make basic fire safety checks at home, such as ensuring that smoke alarms have viable batteries.

A preliminary analysis found that cigarettes remained the leading cause of fatal fires in the state.

Of the 43 fire deaths last year, there were 27 men, 15 women and one was a child. Thirty-four people died in 29 structure fires, while six of the deaths where in motor vehicle fires and another three were killed outside in other types of fires.

The state's three largest cities had a total of just five fire deaths, with two in Boston and Springfield and one in Worcester.

Posted by aryan at 5:46 PM | Comments (0)

Teacher accused of fondling four students at Braintree elementary school

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A long-time Braintree teacher pleaded not guilty today to four counts of indecent assault and battery after four girls in his fourth-grade class accused him foundling their buttocks at Donald Ross Elementary School.

Braintree police Chief Paul H. Frazier said at a press conference this afternoon that the girls each accused Francis X. Campbell Jr. of touching their buttocks on the outside of their clothes. On Nov. 30, the girls got together and told another teacher, who alerted school administrators. Later that evening, one of the girl's parents went to Braintree police.

Campbell, 60, who has taught in Braintree public schools for about 40 years, appeared today in Quincy District Court, where Judge Mark Coven released him without bond. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.

Campbell was taken out of the classroom the day the allegations surfaced, Frazier said. He has since retired from teaching.

Braintree Superintendent of Schools Peter A. Kurzberg was not available for comment today because he was at a staff development workshop.

Frazier said that Campbell set up his desk in the rear of the classroom so the students had their back to him. The girls each accused him of touching them in the back of the classroom where the other students could not see what he was doing, Frazier said.

Campbell's defense attorney, Thomas F. Henneberry, said in a telephone interview that his client did touch the girls on the buttocks, but his actions have been misconstrued and should not be considered a crime.

"It was inappropriate that he did touch the children in that manner, but does it rise to the level of a indecent assault and battery? No,'' Henneberry said. "His actions have been misconstrued ... Never in his heart or mind was any contact he made with these children indecent in any form or fashion."

Henneberry said the Marshfield resident is married and the father of three adult children who has been battling cancer. He said Campbell has an unblemished record during his nearly 40 years with the department. "He's a good, caring person," the Dorchester attorney said. "this is devastating to him and his family."

Posted by aryan at 4:23 PM | Comments (0)

Rivera bows out as Boston schools superintendent

(File photo by Phil Matt/Getty Images for the Boston Globe.)

Manuel J. Rivera is no longer heading to Boston to be the city’s next superintendent of schools.

By Donovan Slack and Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

A deal announced with great fanfare to bring Manuel J. Rivera to Boston as superintendent of schools has collapsed, outraging the mayor and sending the city's search back to the drawing board.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who had held up Rivera's hiring as evidence his administration is making big strides in education, received the news at a mayors' summit in Washington, D.C., and planned to return to Boston early to "assess where we go from here."

"I'm very disappointed that Superintendent Rivera is not coming to the city," Menino said. "This was a shock to me as mayor. We were not prepared for this."

The school committee said Rivera reversed his decision to take the job and is contemplating another offer in his home state of New York.

Rivera was not immediately available for comment.

In September, city officials announced the selection of Rivera as Boston's superintendent. Rivera, the Rochester schools superintendent, would have become Boston's first Hispanic superintendent and had planned to start next July.

Rivera was expected to sign a contract, which would outline his salary and benefits, with Boston sometime this month or in early February.

Getting Rivera to agree to be a candidate was a struggle for the Boston School Committee from the start. He had continually insisted he was not a candidate throughout the search. A cloak of secrecy enveloped the final round of the search last summer as school committee members worked to sign Rivera, who was recognized as a national superintendent of the year and known for his reform efforts in Rochester.

Menino said he is confident in the leadership of Superintendent Michael G. Contompasis, the school system's former Chief Operating Officer who succeeded Thomas W. Payzant last summer while Boston continued looking for a permanent replacement.

Rivera did not contact the mayor directly. School Committee Chairwoman Elizabeth Reilinger received a letter via Fed Ex on Tuesday around noon from Rivera, indicating that he had received a "very attractive and once in a lifetime offer, and it would be unlikely he would be coming to Boston," said Reilinger in a phone interview.

Rivera told her in a subsequent phone conversation that he had received another offer in his home state of New York two weeks ago.

Reilinger said the school committee would conduct a new search, led by the executive search firm Hamilton, Rabinovitz and Alschuler, which conducted the last search and is also leading the search for a new Rochester schools superintendent to replace Rivera.

Reilinger said lawyers for the Boston School Committee and Rivera were in the process of negotiating a contract, and that was not a reason for Rivera's resignation.

"He has not identified that as an issue at all," she said. "Contract issues were proceeding along. We weren't in disagreement. We were just working out language things."

But Domingo Garcia, chairman of the Rochester School Board and a confidante of Rivera's, said Rivera had indicated to him two weeks ago that he was having trouble negotiating a contract.

"I just happened to ask him how it was going and he mentioned he was having some difficulties. He was never able to negotiate a contract with these people, and he was fed up," said Garcia, in a phone interview from the Dominican Republic, where he was traveling on business.

Garcia, who has been out of the country since last weekend, said Rivera never discussed specific points of contention with Boston. The two last spoke last Thursday during a school board meeting.

"Obviously he wasn't able to negotiate the kind of contract he wanted so he backed out," Garcia said.

Rivera, via a spokeswoman, had denied to the Globe he was backing out when rumors first surfaced two weeks ago. He was in the process of drafting a plan for Boston and was traveling to Boston every few weeks to meet with his new staff.

"There is no truth to the rumor," he had said through his spokeswoman, but declined to comment about contract negotiations.

Posted by aryan at 3:03 PM | Comments (0)

Worker dies after fall from scaffolding in Medfield

By Globe Staff

A construction worker died today when scaffolding collapsed in Medfield and he fell at least 10 feet, authorities said.

Raymond Fenoff, 38, of Douglas, was working as a roofer on a new home on Old Village Square when the scaffolding beneath him appears to have failed, officials said.

Fenoff was working for his family's company.

A number of law enforcement officials responded to the scene, including Medfield Police Chief Robert Meaney, Jr. and State Police detectives working for the office of Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating.

A spokesman for the district attorney said an initial probe found no signs of foul play. Fenoff's body was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Boston for a forensic examination.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also responded to the scene. The federal investigators are trying to determine whether proper safety procedures were being used at the construction site.

Posted by aryan at 2:30 PM | Comments (0)

DA: Young mother botched abortion with ulcer medication

By Brian R. Ballou and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

LAWRENCE -- Prosecutors charged an 18-year-old woman today with ingesting ulcer medication in a botched attempt to abort her second-term pregnancy.

Instead of aborting the 23 to 25 week-old fetus, however, Amber Abreu gave birth to 1 1/4-pound baby girl. The infant, who was named Ashley, died four days later, prosecutors allege.

Abreu pleaded not guilty today in Lawrence District Court to "procuring an improper miscarriage," a charge that could carry up to seven years in state prison. She was ordered held on $15,000 cash bail.

Abreu's aunt, Ana Rosario, told reporters outside court that family members were shocked by her arrest Monday by Lawrence police. The family did not know that Abreu was pregnant before she gave birth.

According to prosecutors and court documents, Abreu told investigators, "I killed my baby."

Prosecutors allege that a friend from the Dominican Republic gave Abreu Misoprostol, a drug that is legal in the United States. Misoprostol is typically prescribed to treat stomach ulcers, but it is frequently misused to induce labor, according to court documents.

Abreu told investigators that she took three Misoprostol pills on Jan. 4 and 5. She suffered abdominal pains and gave birth at Lawrence General Hospital on Jan. 6. The premature baby died Jan. 10 at New England Medical Center.

Police became involved in the case when a social worker reported that Abreu told conflicting stories about how much misoprostol she took. The drug had been detected in the baby's urine, according to court documents.

Posted by aryan at 1:03 PM | Comments (0)

English High evacuated after gas leak

By Globe Staff

English High School in Boston was evacuated this morning after a gas leak. No students or staff were injured, officials said.

Boston Police officers and firefighters responded, the source of the leak was fixed, and the school will reopen tomorrow on the usual schedule, officials said.

Other than a few special education students who were taken to nearby Agassiz Elementary, students and staff were dismissed for the day. Families of students were notified.

"The students and staff of English High School are to be commended for their swift and appropriate action in this situation," Superintendent Michael Contompasis said in a statement. "By taking all of the necessary steps, we were able to engage the proper authorities immediately and avert any crisis."

Posted by srhee at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)

Mother faces daughter's convicted killer in Suffolk court

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Rosa Mejia (top) returned to her seat today after giving victim impact statement at the sentencing of Melvin Martinez, who was convicted of raping and murdering Mejia's daughter.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The mother of a woman who was raped and beaten to death with a rock in Chelsea in 2002 faced her daughter's convicted killer in court today as he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"Only someone who is heartless, only someone who has no feelings, could do something like this," Rosa Mejia said through a Spanish-language translator in Suffolk Superior Court.

Mejia was speaking to Melvin Martinez, 23, who was convicted of the rape and murder of 18-year-old Monica Mejia. Martinez showed no emotion as Judge Patrick Brady handed down the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A jury convicted Martinez of taking Monica Mejia into woods on Powderhorn Hill shortly after midnight on July 16, 2002, raping her, hitting her in the head with a rock, and burning her body.

Rosa Mejia had emigrated with Monica Mejia and three younger children from El Salvador in 1990, trying to give them a better life in this country. She told the court today that only her family and her faith have kept her going since her daughter's death.

"It's been like a nightmare," Rosa Mejia said. "Only God gets me here."

Turning to Martinez, she said: "She was a human being. She didn't deserve this."

"I have to go on," Rosa Mejia said. "Justice has been served."

Posted by aryan at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2007

Carter applauded, questioned at Brandeis

By David Abel and James Vaznis, GLOBE STAFF

WALTHAM -- Jimmy Carter, in a carefully orchestrated visit, received multiple ovations Tuesday night during his speech at Brandeis University. Loud applause greeted his rebuttal of critics who have called him an anti-Semite because of his views on Israel.

The 82-year-old former president, whose best-selling book "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid" has angered many Jewish groups and others nationwide, spoke to a packed gym of about 1,700 Brandeis students, faculty, and other members of the campus community. About 50 protesters gathered outside the building where Carter spoke, but inside the gym, the only visible protest was "Pro Israel, Pro Peace" buttons worn by about 200 students.

"This is the first time that I’ve ever been called a liar, and a bigot, and an anti-Semite, and a coward, and a plagiarist," Carter said to a hushed audience at the predominantly Jewish university, referring to the reaction to his book.

Carter had turned down an initial invitation to appear in protest of a suggestion that he debate Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. Some questioned whether the university was denying free speech by requiring a debate and whether Brandeis was truly open to views critical of Israel.

Ultimately, after more than 100 students and faculty signed a petition inviting him without strings, Carter agreed to speak. Dershowitz was kept out of the gym during the speech, but allowed to give a rebuttal after Carter left.

Carter’s book, which criticizes Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, has prompted allegations of errors and omissions and charges of anti-Israel bias. Carter’s use of the word, "apartheid," to describe Palestinians' situation has enflamed many. But Carter also has received support from some who say the book raises important questions about the United States’ support of Israel.

Carter, president from 1977-1981, brokered the 1978 Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

At Brandeis, Carter spoke for about 15 minutes, then fielded pre-screened questions from students for roughly 45 minutes.

In response to a question, Carter apologized for a sentence in his book that he acknowledged seemed to justify terrorism by saying that suicide bombings should end when Israel accepts the goals of the roadmap to peace with Palestinians.

"That sentence was worded in a completely improper and stupid way," Carter said. "I’ve written my publishers to change that sentence immediately in future editions of the book. I apologize to you personally and to everyone here."

But he defended the use of the word "apartheid" in his book title.
"I realize that this has caused great concern in the Jewish community," he said. "The title makes it clear that the book is about conditions and events in the Palestinian territory and not in Israel. And the text makes clear on numerous occasions that the forced separation and the domination of Arabs by Israelis is not based on race."

As the audience was silent, he spoke of roads Palestinians could not use and of the more than 500 checkpoints in the tiny West Bank.
He suggested that a group of Brandeis professors and students visit the occupied territories for a few days and meet with leaders and private citizens "to determine if I have exaggerated or incorrectly described the plight of the Palestinians."

Early in his speech, he quipped about the controversy over his invitation to speak at Brandeis.

"Except for an invitation from the US Congress to deliver my inaugural address ... this is the most exciting invitation I’ve ever received -- and it’s gotten almost as much publicity," Carter said.
In response to efforts on campus to have him debate Dershowitz, the former president said to loud applause: "I didn’t think Brandeis needed a Harvard professor to come" and tell them how to think.

After Carter’s speech, roughly half of the audience remained to hear Dershowitz’s rebuttal.

Dershowitz said that Carter modified some of his viewpoints during his appearance at Brandeis and corrected information in his book.
"Had he written a book similar from what he said on stage, I don’t believe there would have been much controversy. I wish I didn’t have to be here today to respond to President Carter," he said. "We are not that far apart from our views."

Students left the former president’s speech with mixed opinions.
Jake Sebrow, 22, a senior majoring in politics, said he was impressed by Carter’s talk and supported his message of peace but disagreed with a lot of what he said.

"I think he showed how to go about creating a dialogue," Sebrow said.

Sara Hammershleg, 19, a freshman wearing a "Pro Israel, Pro Peace" button, was upset that there hadn’t been a debate, that the questions were screened, and students couldn’t ask follow-ups.

"I wish he could have been challenged more," she said.

But Nadhava Palikapitiya, 30, a graduate student from Sri Lanka, said Carter’s message was on the mark.

"I agree with him 150 percent -- that people have to try to look at this debate objectively," he said.

Across the street from the gym where Carter spoke, a mix of Carter critics and supporters, mostly non-students, stood in a designated area holding signs with opposing views.

Erik Miller, 26, held a sign that read "Carter lied, thousands died."
A few feet away, Karen Klein, held a sign expressing support for Carter.

Miller, 26, who said he had just returned from a 20-day trip to Israel, is a campus coordinator of the David Project Center for Jewish Leadership, a Boston-area group that supports Israel. He said he objected to the title of Carter’s book.

"Israel is the most free, the most open country," Miller said. "I saw black Jews. I saw brown Jews. I saw white Jews and also non-Jews. The true apartheid is in the Arab world where if you’re not Muslim and if you’re not male you can be victimized very easily."

Klein, a member of Workmen’s Circle, a national Jewish organization, said she believed Carter’s view supported peace in Israel.

April Simpson of the Globe staff contributed.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

Lawyers challenge DNA results

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Showing the widening fallout from the mishandling of DNA test results at the State Police lab, the lawyers in three high-profile murder cases challenged the reliability of such test results and suggested the problems could help their clients.

A lawyer for Neil Entwistle, whose DNA was allegedly found on the gun used to kill his wife and infant daughter, said the suspension of Robert E. Pino, the civilian administrator of the DNA database at the State Police forensic laboratory, "calls into question the reliability, trustworthiness, and integrity" of the lab and should be investigated by an independent forensic scientist.

The FBI began auditing the laboratory last week because Pino allegedly reported four test results incorrectly and failed to report 11 matches in old unsolved rape cases until the statute of limitations had expired.

But Entwistle’s lawyer, Elliot M. Weinstein, said in an interview that the bureau has had its own deficiencies with DNA analysis in recent years and lacks credibility.

Weinstein, who unsuccessfully asked a judge last fall to toss out DNA evidence against Entwistle, declined to say whether he intends to submit a new motion on the basis of Pino’s suspension. But his comments indicate that defense lawyers will probably cite the lab’s problems as reasons that judges should block DNA results from being introduced as evidence, that juries should discount such evidence, or that convictions should be overturned.

Also Tuesday, lawyer Robert A. George said he expects that Pino’s actions will form the basis of challenges in two other high-profile murder cases: Christopher M. McCowen’s conviction in November of the murder of Christa Worthington, and Edward S. O’Brien’s 1997 conviction in the slaying of his best friend’s mother. George represented both defendants.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:37 PM | Comments (0)

T cop rescues man from rails

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

It was bad enough that a distraught man was threatening to kill himself by touching the 600-volt third rail. Then, MBTA Transit Police Officer Danny Vieira saw the headlights of a Red Line train rumbling toward them at about 30 miles per hour.

Seconds earlier, Vieira had called on his radio to order all trains stopped. But word hadn’t reached this one as it entered the Davis Square Station in Somerville about 7 p.m. Monday.

Recounting the incident, Vieira said Tuesday night that he leaned out over the tracks and told the man to come closer to the platform. "And that’s when we saw the headlights. I said, 'Oh, my God! We’re both going to be hit by a train.'"

Vieira waved his flashlight back and forth at the train, the standard signal to stop. But the train didn’t slow right away.

He said what flashed in his mind was a New York City man who this month jumped on the subway tracks, pulled a Massachusetts student between the tracks, and shielded them both as the train rolled over them.

Vieira said he lunged down, grabbed the man’s neck and armpit, and lifted him to safety.

"We were kind of dangling there for a second," Vieira said. "I think the adrenaline shot in, and I kind of pulled him up. As I was pulling him up, I looked over at the train, and I could see the eyes of the motorman. And he looked just as frightened as I did."

The train stopped 10 feet away.

The man on the tracks, a 53-year-old Somerville resident who was taken to Somerville Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, "was obviously in some kind of trouble, and I was just glad I was there to help him," said Vieira, 27, born and raised in Somerville with two years in the job, a 5-month-old boy at home, and a wife who waits up for him to finish his late-night shift. He spent much of Tuesday thinking about how bad things could have been and apologizing to his wife.

Sergeant Richard Campos, Vieira’s superior, later talked to the train operator.

"He just raved about Officer Vieira," Campos said. "Had Vieira not signaled, he said he couldn’t see the man in the pit and would have never stopped in time."

Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:30 PM | Comments (0)

Storied barbershop makes final cuts

By April Simpson, Globe Staff

In the far corner of M&M Barbers, shop owner Arnita Cooper provides a sympathetic ear as much as she cuts hair and trims beards and mustaches.

Norman Jones, who has had his hair cut at M&M for 23 years, said Cooper knows when to be quiet and let him share what is on his mind.

"It’s more than just haircutting, it’s almost like a therapy session sometimes," said Cooper, 61.

But the quiet conversations between Cooper and others have increasingly focused on her father, Kelly "Mac" McLean, who opened M&M in the South End in 1947. McLean, who died five years ago, saw the neighborhood gentrify as newer businesses and people moved old-timers out.

Now M&M will follow. The shop’s lease is up, and hasn’t been renewed. It will close Jan. 31.

Members of the McLean family said they would prefer to close the shop than sell it to someone else.

"As far as this closing, it’s not a period, it’s a comma, it’s a continuation, and it’s a blessing in disguise," said McLean’s son, Jerry. "You don’t have to worry about somebody destroying the name. It’ll still go down in history as a barbershop that has been in the South End for 60 years and has survived with its character, morals, and integrity."

M&M Barbers first opened on Northampton Street, an area that in the 1970s became rife with violence, but whose perpetrators avoided McLean’s door.

"Word gets around, you just do not come in here and act the way you want to act," Cooper said.

Urban renewal forced Kelly McLean to move M&M to Washington Street, where it has stayed for roughly 30 years. There, Cooper and others shadowed McLean and learned the business of barbering.

Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:20 PM | Comments (0)

Carter opens Brandeis speech with a joke, defends book

By Globe Staff

Jimmy Carter, stepping to the podium to applause and a standing ovation, quipped to Brandeis University students and staff today that the school's invitation to speak there was the most exciting one he had received in nearly 30 years. It came in second only to the US Congress's invitation to deliver his presidential inaugural address, he said to laughter.

Then Carter, responding to criticism about his controversial book, "Palestine Peace not Apartheid," outlined the work he had done as president to bring peace to Israel and defended the use of the word, "apartheid" in the title.

"With my use of apartheid, I realize this has caused great concern in the Jewish community," Carter said. "The title makes it clear."

The book is about events in the Palestinian territory, not Israel, he said, gesturing with his hand to emphasize his point. As the audience was silent, he spoke of roads Palestinians could not use and of the more than 500 checkpoints in the tiny West Bank they had to go through on a regular basis.

He suggested that a group of Brandeis professors and students visit the occupied territory to see for themselves "the plight of the Palestinians."

The event to promote Carter's new controversial book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid," almost didn't happen because the former president initially declined an invitation. The first invitation, extended in November, included a caveat that he debate his book with one of his most ardent opponents, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowtiz.

Carter’s initial decision to not come sparked a furor on campus, with some questioning whether the university was denying free speech by requiring a debate. It also triggered questions about how open the predominantly Jewish campus was to views critical of Israel, given another incident where a student had to take down a show of art by Palestinian children.

Ultimately, after more than 100 students and faculty signed a petition re-inviting him without strings, Carter agreed to speak. Dershowitz was barred from sitting in the speech, but was allowed to give a rebuttal after Carter left.

Dershowitz told the Brandeis audience he and Carter are both "pro-Israel and pro-Palestine."

"Had he written a book that was similar to what he said from this stage, I do not believe there would have been much controversy," Dershowitz said.

The Harvard Law professor said he also favors an end to Israeli occupation and settlements in the terrorities, but he said Carter does not talk about the opportunities Palestinians have passed up to have their own state.

"President Carter makes it sound so simple," he said. "I'm afraid those simplifications are not really conducive to an enduring peace.

The controversy at Brandeis is only the latest stemming from Carter's book, which has stirred allegations of errors and omissions and charges of anti-Israel bias. The book takes issue with Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory and Carter's use of the word, "apartheid," to treatment of Palestinians. At the same time, the 39th president has gotten support from some who say he is raising important questions about the United States' support of Israel.

Outside the speech, a mix of about 50 critics and supporters held signs and shouted slogans in designated protest areas. Erik Miller held a sign that said "Carter lied, thousands died." A few feet away, Karen Klein held a sign that said "Another Jew for Negotiation over war."

Earlier in the day, Carter was greeted by hundreds of well-wishers at a book signing with tight security at the Harvard Coop as Secret Service agents stood throughout the store. People could smile and wave to the former president, but they couldn't shake his hand. A rope barrier separated the crowd from Carter, who sat behind a wide wooden table.

Customers handed copies of the book over to store employees or Secret Service agents, who handed them to the former president to sign. Mostly, Carter and well-wishers simply said "thank you" to each other. One woman said, "Thank you for writing this book." Another woman said, "I wish you were running in 2008."

The few people with signs were in support of the president. "Thank you President Carter - What about 5 million Palestinian refugees?" one person's sign said.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Posted by aryan at 5:41 PM | Comments (0)

Critics, supporters gather outside Carter speech

By April Simpson and James Vaznis, Globe Staff

A mix of about 50 critics and supporters held signs and shouted slogans in designated protest areas at Brandeis University today as President Jimmy Carter delivered his much anticipated speech about his controversial book.

Erik Miller held a sign that said "Carter lied, thousands died." A few feet away, Karen Klein held a sign that said "Another Jew for Negotiation over war."

"There are lots and lots of what's called speakers who support the Israel government's policy, and it's never asked that they debate with anyone or have what's called balance," Klein said in an interview. "[Carter] is presenting a point of view that is supportive of peace with in that Israeli peace activists and Palestinian peace activists and the international community all believe is the way to find a peaceful solution to the conflict."

Klein is a member of Workmen's Circle, a national Jewish organization. Miller, 26, who just returned from a 20-day trip to Israel, held a different view.

"I don't agree with the title of his book," said Miller, a campus coordinator for The David Project Center for Jewish Leadership. "Israel is the most free, the most open country."

"I saw black Jews. I saw brown Jews. I saw white Jews and also non-Jews," Miller continued. "The true Apartheid is in the Arab world where if you're not Muslim and if you're not male you can be victimized very easily."

Howard Lenow, a 52-year-old member of Jewish Voice for Peace in Boston, stood with about 20 of his members in support of Carter's speech. Lenow said Peace not Apartheid is an important and impassioned book. Had the Camp David accords under Carter been followed, Lenow said, perhaps there would be no occupation of Palestine.

"We're not anti-Israel self-hating Jews," Lenow said. "We just feel that what Israel is doing is wrong."

Members of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America handed out one-page fliers to students as they waited in line for Carter's speech. The fliers highlighted what the committee believes were five major errors in the book that either down played anti-Israel violence by Palestinians, or exaggerated or fabricated information.

"We want students to understand the facts behind what Carter says,” said Gilead Ini, a research analyst with the group. “In order to make an informed opinion, that opinion needs to be based on factual material."

Posted by aryan at 5:12 PM | Comments (0)

Man found guilty in rape and slaying of teen

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

A Chelsea man was convicted today of savagely beating a teenage girl with a rock, raping her, then setting her body on fire.

Melvin Martinez, 23, could be sentenced to life in prison tomorrow after a hearing during which the family of 18-year-old Monica Mejia is expected to testify about how her death has affected them.

Another jury last March deadlocked on the charges against Martinez, prompting a second trial that concluded today in guilty verdicts for first-degree murder and aggravated rape after a week of testimony and nearly two days of jury deliberation.

Martinez's accomplice, Adalberto Inglese, 28, pleaded guilty in December 2005, and is serving life in prison with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder. He will also serve 10 to 15 years for rape.

Mejia's killing shocked investigators and prosecutors.

"The details of Monica Mejia's death are so brutal as to speak for themselves," Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement.

Posted by srhee at 5:06 PM | Comments (0)

Carter greeted by well-wishers at book signing before controversial Brandeis speech

(David L. Ryan/ Globe Staff)

Former President Jimmy Carter signed his controversial book today at the Harvard Coop in Cambridge.

By James Vaznis and April Simpson, Globe Staff

Jimmy Carter, several hours before he was likely to face protestors and tension at a speech at Brandeis University, greeted hundreds of well-wishers at a book signing with tight security at the Harvard Coop.

Carter, whose best-selling book "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid," has stirred allegations of errors and omissions and charges of anti-Israel bias, showed up around 1 p.m. for the signing, a half hour early. The book takes issue with Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.

Secret Service agents posted throughout the store at the book signing. People could smile and wave to the former president, but they couldn't shake his hand. A rope barrier separated the crowd from Carter, who sat behind a wide wooden table.

Customers handed copies of their books over to store employees or Secret Service agents, who handed them to the former president to sign. Mostly, Carter and well-wishers simply said “thank you” to each other. One woman said, "Thank you for writing this book." Another woman said, "I wish you were running in 2008."

The few people with signs were in support of the president. "Thank you President Carter - What about 5 million Palestinian refugees?" one person's sign said.

"I myself as a Palestinian, I support a one-state resolution," said Salma Abu Ayyash, a stay-at-home mother from Cambridge, who held the sign.

"This is something that needs to get out. There are many of us Jews that support him," said Martin Federman, co-chair of the Boston chapter of Jewish Voices for Peace, in reference to Carter's message.

By 4:20 p.m., a mix of about 50 critics and supporters were standing in the designated protest area across from the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center at Brandeis. They held signs and shouted slogans to passersby. Watch the speech live by clicking here.

Carter was president from 1977-198. His speech almost did not happen because he initially declined an invitation that would have required him to debate with one of his most ardent opponents, Alan Dershowitz. The predominantly Jewish university, at the urging of students and faculty, later dropped the debate requirement, though Dershowitz will give a rebuttal after Carter leaves Brandeis.

As the doors opened at about 2:10 p.m. to let students into the center, some showed their opposition to Carter's views.

"Pro-Israel equals pro-peace,"screamed Katie Schlussel, a 19-year-old freshman from New Jersey, just before she entered. Schlussel wore a blue and white t-shirt that said "Israel have you heard?" which was meant to "support Israel and its war against terror."

Schlussel, with a student group called Zionists for Historical Veracity, handed out informational fliers and planned to hang up posters after the event to stir debate.

Some members of the group said their expectations for Carter's address were low. "He'll use harsher language for one side than the other," Sara Hammerschlag, a 19-year-old freshman from New Jersey, said of Carter's book.

Lauren Ruderman, a 21-year-old senior predicted a fiery event. "I'm sure that Brandeis students are going to go after him. You're coming to Brandeis, a Jewish school," she said.

But at both the book signing and in the line for Carter's talk at Brandeis, some said they simply wanted to see a former president.

"President Carter is one of the best Presidents of the 20th century," said Jim Van Sciver, a computer programmer at the book signing.

At Brandeis, Albert Cahn was first in line today. Although Cahn said Carter's book was "simplistic, not very scholarly," he said wanted to attend the speech and waited nearly three hours for a ticket last week because of the importance of a former president visiting Brandeis. "It'll be an interesting and impassioned discourse," Cahn said.

Posted by aryan at 4:30 PM | Comments (0)

Infant deaths in Worcester, Springfield trouble health authorities

By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff

Twice as many infants in Worcester died before their first birthday in 2005 than in the previous year, according to a state report released today that also detailed an upsurge in infant deaths in Springfield.

Troubled health authorities outlined a constellation of economic and health factors that could explain the increase while pledging to further investigate the rise and implement measures aimed at reducing infant deaths in the two cities.

Even taking into account the increase, the number of deaths remains relatively low: In 2005, 36 out of 2,589 Worcester babies died before the age of 1. In Springfield, 25 of 2,369 infants died.

Still, the rate of infant deaths was substantially higher in the two cities than the statewide average, which stood at 5.1 deaths for every 1,000 babies born in 2005. In Worcester, the comparable figure was 13.9; in Springfield, it was 10.6 deaths for every 1,000 babies born.

Specialists at the state Department of Public Health said that more than a single year's data is needed to establish a trend regarding infant mortality, noting that rates have fluctuated significantly in Worcester and Springfield in recent years. A preliminary state analysis does not suggest that mothers or newborns in the cities are receiving inferior care during birth or in the weeks after; a review of births to mothers from surrounding communities does not show a similar spike in infant deaths.

Instead, state specialists as well as health agencies in the two cities are focusing on steps that can improve the health of child-bearing women before they become pregnant.

"We have to look at what's happening to that mother before she gets pregnant, not just at what happened after she got pregnant," said Sally Fogerty, an associate commissioner of public health.

Posted by aryan at 2:33 PM | Comments (0)

Parents of accused Lincoln-Sudbury student 'numb'

By Globe Staff

The parents of John Odgren issued their first statement to the media today since the 16-year-old student was accused of stabbing a classmate to death at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School on Friday.

"This is a horrible tragedy," Paul and Dorothy Odgren said today in a statement that addressed the family of James Alenson, his friends, neighbors, and fellow students.

"We cannot find words to express the grief we feel for the tragic death of your beloved James," the statement continued. "Our hearts are heavy, and we are numb with sorrow."

A community meeting has been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in the high school auditorium in Sudbury. The meeting is open to everyone and not just those with connections to the school.

Participants will include town officials from both Lincoln and Sudbury; Middlesex District Attorney Gerald T. Leone Jr.; grief counselor Diane Moran; John Ritchie, principal and superintendent of the regional high school system; school committee members; and public safety officials.

On Monday, the parents of 15-year-old Alenson broke their silence, issuing a statement that described their son as "always the first to offer help, incapable of telling a lie."

Posted by aryan at 2:25 PM | Comments (0)

Man in Hyannis crushed to death by cherry picker

By Dan Muse, Globe Correspondent

A 56-year-old laborer from West Yarmouth died today in Hyannis when he was pinned between a cherry picker and the top of a doorframe, according to Sergeant Sean Sweeney of the Barnstable Police Department.

David Karpinski was installing outdoor lighting at a boat storage building at the Hyannis Marina when the bucket of the cherry picker raised unexpectedly, Sweeney said.

Though the cause of the accident is still under investigation, Sweeney said Karpinski was working alone at the time and may have inadvertently leaned on the machine's controls. A co-worker discovered Karpinski's body at about 8 a.m.

Posted by aryan at 2:06 PM | Comments (0)

Death of accused Maynard teacher leaves unanswered questions

By Melissa Beecher, Globe Correspondent

The death of former high school teacher Joseph Magno has sent shock waves through Maynard, a town that was anxiously awaiting his trial on charges that he sexually abused students.

For some, it ends a painful episode after a torrent of allegations surfaced about the man who taught at Maynard public schools for 43 years. Others, however, feel that through death, the 66-year-old Magno cheated justice.

"I am not happy that I won't be able to stare him down in court," said Walter Trachim, 44, in a telephone interview. The New Hampshire man has filed a police report accusing Magno of molesting him repeatedly beginning in 1974, when he was 12-years-old.

"I am not happy he escaped justice by dying," said Trachim, who transferred from Maynard High School before graduating. "Those who rely on faith may say that he is already facing judgment."

Magno faced 18 counts of child rape and indecent assault and battery after a 17-year-old accused him last year of sexually assaulting him over a three-year period, beginning when he was 13 years old in 2001. Since then, prosecutors say 14 other men have come forward alleging similar sexual abuse dating back four decades.

A judge had been scheduled to decide today if the 14 other people who have accused Magno of abuse would have been allowed to testify at trial. A jury was to be impaneled in the Middlesex Superior Court on Friday.

The case will be formally dismissed after prosecutors receive a certified death certificate, Assistant District Attorney Michael Chinman said today in court. An autopsy today by the state medical examiner found that Magno died because of heart attack.

Magno was suspended last February from the Maynard public schools amid the abuse allegations. As word spread that he was found dead in his Hudson home Monday night, students and parents gathered at WAVM, the high school radio station studio that he helped launch.

"In some ways, this leaves a lot of mystery that will never be explained," said John Lent the Maynard High principal who has worked with Magno since 1968.

"Personally, I never saw anything but Joe’s best, but others have come forward with stories, horrible stories," Lent said. He added: "The saddest part is that this will continue to leave so many questions and doubts. It’s a sad, sad event for the town."

According to defense attorney Donald DeMayo, Magno had been suffering from heart problems, diabetes and the complications of having one kidney, which were only compounded by the stress of his looming trial.

"The tragedy for us is that no one will ever know how much we had going in," said DeMayo. "We were prepared, incredibly prepared, to take this thing to trial. The jury was finally going to hear it all."

Police Chief James Corcoran said: "I have known Joe a long time, and he hasn’t been well."

Another defense attorney, Mark Shea, said in court this morning that both he and DeMayo were concerned about Magno's health. On Monday, Magno had trouble rising to his feet and was breathing heavily throughout the proceeding. He frequently bowed and hung his head.

Posted by aryan at 1:14 PM | Comments (0)

Menino tells mayors to band together against guns

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON, DC -- Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino told a group of mayors gathered in Washington, D.C., they must band together to press for stricter gun laws at a conference he organized with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"Mayors need partners and that is why we are here today," Menino said.

The coalition Menino formed with Bloomberg, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has grown from 15 mayors from across the country when it met last April in New York to more than 100. Some 50 attended today's meeting, where they discussed strategies to oppose proposed federal legislation that would restrict a federal database that tracks sales of guns by serial numbers.

Menino and other mayors are hoping to capitalize on the new Democratic majority in Congress to promote an agenda they hope will help reduce urban gun violence. Menino planned to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this afternoon to push the agenda.

"Since the new year, three middle school students, all under the age of 15, have been shot and killed in Boston," Menino said in opening remarks at the conference. "I visited the schools of the two of the students. Their classmates are scared, keep asking why. I couldn't give them an answer because there is no good answer. This type of sad incident happens too often in cities across our country."

Menino planned to remain in Washington through Thursday. He planned to attend a meeting of the US Conference of Mayors.

Posted by aryan at 11:52 AM | Comments (0)

Patrick podcast aims to give a glimpse into the governor's office

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Aside from those people on the third floor of the State House who smelled the smoke, most people probably didn't know that Governor Deval Patrick had a little trouble yesterday the first time he tried to use the fireplace in his office. Nothing burst into flames, but to Patrick's embarrassment, the room filed with smoke.

Starting Friday, people will be able to listen to the behind-the-scenes experiences of the state's new governor in his own voice. Patrick plans to launch a podcast that will be available on the state website at www.mass.gov and will include policy announcements and commentaries on a variety of issues.

"One of the things we did during the campaign which was so important to me was building a direct relationship with people and making a mechanism for me to hear from them and for me to talk directly to them," Patrick said today in an interview on Fox 25.

Podcasts, which are multimedia files that computer users can download from the Internet and put onto a portable music player such as an iPod, exist for topics ranging from poker strategy to calculus. The governors of Minnesota, California, and Arkansas have podcasts, and the president's weekly address is now available through podcasts.

In June, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino launched a podcast that he posts on the city website that includes hip-hop music.

Patrick will record the three to five minute messages with a microphone on the computer in his office with the help of some aides, according to Cyndi Roy, a spokeswoman for the governor's office.

Patrick is excited about the possibility of new ways to connect with constituents, but he admits that he is "pretty primitive" when it comes to using technology himself, Roy said.

The governor hopes to post a new podcast every week, Roy said, and will tackle a range of topics, including mundane experiences such as trouble with an old fire place.

"The governor wanted an outlet for speaking to the residents of Massachusetts directly, pulling them into what has been historically a very closed environment on Beacon Hill," Roy said.

Posted by aryan at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)

Murray moves to make good on Indy bet

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray has a task this week that he hadn't planned on: Shipping seafood and local brewed beer to Indiana.

Murray placed a bet with Indiana Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman on Sunday's AFC Championship showdown between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. Skillman wagered a gift basket of select meats from Indiana producers. Murray put fresh seafood and Massachusetts-brewed ales on the line.

"We thought we were going to win," said Jose Martinez, a spokesman for the lieutenant governor.

The Colts came back from 18 points down and beat the Patriots 38-34. Now Martinez and other staffers have to figure out how to get fresh fish to the Heartland. While Murray's office had planned on sending a token clam or two to Indiana if the Colts lost, no contingency plan had been made if the Patriots floundered.

This week, the lieutenant governor's office has been working with Legal Seafood to send Skillman a New England clambake.

"We’re not welshers," Martinez said. "We're going to make good on the bet."

Posted by aryan at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2007

Panel: Low cost health care too pricey

By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff

Mandating health insurance coverage that would cost the average individual $380 a month is untenable, a state board decided Monday.

The board, which is overseeing the state’s universal health insurance law, postponed a vote Monday to set minimal requirements for coverage and instead requested lower-cost bids from insurers.

"Clearly, $380 is not what we consider affordable" for minimal coverage, said Jon Kingsdale, executive director of the board, the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector.

The board’s decision to press insurers for less costly insurance plans followed outcry from advocates, hospitals, and lawmakers. Governor Deval Patrick and legislative leaders intervened over the weekend, advising board members not to press ahead with a standard that some suggested could undermine the goal of universal health coverage.

At a State House press conference Monday, Patrick said: "I’m worried, based on the affordability sessions that I’ve been to, that $400 for someone who is at 300 percent of the poverty level may not be affordable."

Under the law, all adults must obtain coverage by July 1 or pay a penalty, unless they secure a waiver by proving they can’t afford insurance. The board must decide what level of coverage will satisfy that mandate. Individuals earning less than 300 percent of the poverty level, or $29,400, are eligible for a separate, state-subsidized insurance package.

But for an estimated 160,000 to 200,000 people, the minimum plan probably would be the least expensive they could buy.

A subcommittee had recommended Friday that the board set standards that appeared to come with a $380 monthly price tag, even though they were distressed about that price.

But Monday, the board chairwoman, Leslie Kirwan, said that some insurers have offered lower-cost coverage and that the board would press others to do the same.

"Affordability and choice are critical issues for us," said Kirwan, administration and finance secretary in Patrick’s administration. "Massachusetts citizens deserve both."

Neither Kirwan nor other board members would set a target premium Monday, but the board had expected to get plans with premiums of about $260, or $3,120 per year.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)

BRA fights questioning

By Charles A. Radin and Matt Viser, Globe Staff

The Boston Redevelopment Authority went to court Monday to prevent four of its key officials from having to answer questions under oath about a deal in which a city-owned parcel of land was transferred to an Islamic group for construction of a mosque.

Lawyers for the city’s most powerful agency argued in Suffolk Superior Court that critics of the mosque project at Roxbury Crossing had no right to depose the BRA officials about the project or obtain more documents than those already provided to the David Project, a nonprofit Jewish advocacy group.

Leaders of the David Project have questioned the BRA’s deal with the Islamic Society of Boston, under which the society is building the mosque. They have also suggested the BRA is trying to keep details of the arrangement secret by blocking the release of public information.

BRA attorneys said the David Project has not agreed to pay for searching for the requested documents, including e-mails, and for copying those documents, a cost that could range from about $50,000 to $85,000.

David Project lawyers said they have clearly stated they would pay all reasonable search and duplication costs but that the BRA had "wildly inflated" cost estimates in a continuing effort to withhold thousands of public records.

"The BRA has made a series of institutional decisions to make its public documents difficult to access," Scott P. Lewis, a lawyer representing the David Project, said at Monday’s 30-minute hearing on the BRA’s motion to block his subpoenas of BRA officials and on a countermotion asking that the officials be compelled to appear for questioning.

Susan Elsbree, BRA spokeswoman, refused to comment on any aspect of the public-records dispute between the city agency and the David Project.

"This is an ongoing legal matter, and it would be inappropriate for us to try our case in the press," Elsbree said. "This matter is in litigation, and the outcome will be decided by the court."

Judge Allan van Gestel did not immediately rule on the motions.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)

All aboard: Uphams Corner commuter rail station to get face-lift

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

State and MBTA officials will unveil a $7 million upgrade Tuesday to the Uphams Corner commuter rail station in Dorchester, the first station renovation completed on a long-sought renovation of the MBTA’s Fairmount Line.

At 9 miles, it is the T’s shortest commuter rail line and runs through neighborhoods where many depend on public transit: Hyde Park, Mattapan, and Dorchester. The $100 million overhaul will add four stations, upgrade tracks and signals and fix six bridges. It will also result in better service from Readville to South Station. The project is expected to be complete in 2011.

"It’s coming at the perfect time," said Ed Grimes, executive director of the Uphams Corner Health Center. "It’s kind of a rebirth for that whole area."

Not long ago, many residents of Uphams Corner didn’t know there was a commuter rail station nearby. Hidden behind an abandoned furniture warehouse, the station’s rusted shelter, trash can, and worn-out bench were the only signs that the trains stopped. The steps to the station were dark.

"People were not very secure in going there and using it," said Grimes.

Now, the area is growing. While Grimes said crime remains a concern, the nearby vacant lots are the future home of the Salvation Army’s $100 million community center. The renovation also moved the station’s stairs to the Dudley Street side, installed more lighting, and made the station fully accessible.

Renovations to Morton Street and Fairmount are nearly completed. A coalition of community leaders and development corporations has asked that a total of five new stations be built along the line. So far, the T has only approved four: Newmarket, Four Corners, Talbot Avenue, and Blue Hill Avenue.

T officials project that ridership would jump from 2,800 per day now to about 7,300 daily, once the four stations are built, turning an hour-long bus and subway ride from Mattapan to downtown into a 15- to 20-minute train ride. It now takes 11 minutes to go from Uphams Corner to South Station. There are 22 inbound and 21 outbound trips each weekday.

Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)

Victim identified in Beverly crash

By Globe Staff

Authorities released the name this afternoon of the woman killed on Saturday after a police cruiser crashed into a parked car where she was sitting.

The Essex County District Attorney's office identified the woman as Bonney Burns, 61, who lived on Cabot Street in Beverly.

According to police, Officer Stuart Merry lost control of his vehicle Saturday morning and crashed into Burns' car at 9:20 a.m. on Cabot Street while he was on routine patrol.

Beverly Mayor William F. Scanlon, Jr. said Sunday that inspectors from the Ford Motor Co. found no problems with the vehicle when it was checked for acceleration problems shortly after the Beverly Police Department purchased it three years ago.

Merry, 40, is a seven-year department veteran.

Posted by aryan at 2:40 PM | Comments (0)

Bookkeeper charged in lavish spending spree

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

A Pennsylvania woman was charged today with embezzling $6.9 million from her Rehoboth employer and spending it on a Vermont ranch, a Disney World timeshare, show horses, a fleet of motor vehicles, and other luxury items.

As part of the spending spree, Angela B. Platt, 43, formerly of Cumberland, R.I., also allegedly indulged her love of Halloween by purchasing a smoke-spewing dragon statue, mechanical talking trees, and a life-size Al Capone statute, federal prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, Platt embezzled the money from 1999 to 2006 while she worked for J&J Materials, a construction materials firm where she worked as an accountant with control over expense accounts. She began by writing weekly expense checks to herself for about $5,000, but that grew to $50,000 by the time her scheme was detected, said US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan's office.

Platt allegedly threw lavish parties and lived the high-life, despite a $40,000 annual salary from J&J. At her brother's 2006 wedding, she hired legendary singer Burt Bacharach and dancers from "Riverdance." To explain her wealth, she told friends she had been promoted to CEO at several companies or that her husband had won the lottery.

If convicted, Platt faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Posted by srhee at 2:01 PM | Comments (0)

An emotional first day back at Lincoln-Sudbury HS

(Janet Knott/Globe Staff)

John M. Ritchie, the superintendent and principal of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, told reporters today that students' first day back since Friday's fatal stabbing was somber.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

SUDBURY --Students broke into a spontaneous and sustained applause today inside the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School auditorium, the first assembly since a 15-year-old was stabbed to death in a bathroom last week and a classmate was charged with murder.

"It wasn't for me," school Superintendent John M. Ritchie said to reporters, referring to the applause. "They wanted the school to feel they really love the place."

Last Friday, 16-year-old sophomore John Odgren allegedly stabbed fellow student, 15-year-old James Alenson, to death in a bathroom. Odgren is charged with first degree murder as an adult, has pleaded not guilty and is currently being held in a Department of Youth Services facility in Plymouth. His defense attorney, Jonathan Shapiro, has said Odgren was taking medications for a Asperger syndrome, a mild form of autism, and hyperactivity.

Police kept reporters off school grounds this morning, but officials met with the media. The press conference included the police chiefs of Sudbury and Lincoln.

Principals at neighboring schools sought to reassure parents and sent letters home about what administrators had done since Friday.

"Our plan is to keep our students' day as normal as possible with an emphasis on making everyone feel safe," said a letter to parents from Josiah Haynes Elementary School Principal Susan Carlson. The letter added: "If any children feel somewhat uncomfortable using the bathrooms, we will have them go with a friend or go to the bathroom in the nurse's office."

At Lincoln-Sudbury, Ritchie said attendance appeared close to normal for the 1,600 student body and that grief counselors, parents and police officers were spread throughout the school's campus. He described the mood as "somber ... right now, we are into grieving."

As he walked the halls, Ritchie said he was frequently embraced by students. "I've gotten more hugs today," he said. "I'm glad I am not germophobic."

Ritchie said that last Wednesday -- two days before the murder -- the school and local police conducted a full-scale, lock-down drill. He said the drill, which had been planned for a year, helped make the response by the school and police on Friday more effective. He said recent studies show that school violence is on the decline nationally and that homicide among teens inside a school is exceptionally rare. He said nationally 0.1 of 1 percent of teen homicides occur inside schools.

"Kids are safer in schools than anywhere else," he said. "Two days later (after the drill) we dealt with that 0.1 of 1 percent."

Without going into specifics, Ritchie was skeptical of claims by students that Odgren had spoken of a desire to commit violence. He suggested the school staff did not hear of that kind of information before last Friday. "Who knows what he said to other students," Ritchie said.

Ritchie said he expects that the school's security policy and its involvement in the special needs program utilized by Odgren will be closely scrutinized, a process he said he welcomes and supports. "It's totally expected for people to have questions, concerns and fears," he said.

The school has reached out to parents of both the victim and the accused, Ritchie said, but he has not had any direct contact with the families. No previous connection between the two students before Friday morning has been established, he said.

Sudbury Police Chief Peter Fadgen said his officers are at the school in case students or staff are concerned for their safety. "I don't sense that," Fadgen said. "I sense that people are handling it well." He referred questions about the investigation to Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr's office.

Dismissal will be at the regular time today and a regular class schedule is planned for Tuesday. He said the school is still trying to figure when to begin mid-term exams, originally set for this Thursday.

Posted by aryan at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

New England Home for the Deaf reopens exactly two months after explosion rocked Danvers

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Exactly two months ago, the 60 mostly elderly residents of the New England Home for the Deaf in Danvers were jolted from their beds at 2:45 a.m. by what felt like an earthquake that cracked walls and sent shards of glass flying from broken windows. A fiery industrial explosion plunged the residents into a confusing and cold world of flashing emergency lights.

Miraculously, none of the residents were physically injured by the blast at CAI Inc, an ink manufacture less than 200 yards away from the home. Still, the experience rattled the tight-knit group and scattered them across the region as residents moved in with relatives or took up temporary shelter at other area homes.

In the 60 days since the blast, hundreds of thousands of dollars has been spent fixing ceilings, patching cracked walls, tearing out carpets, replacing windows, and repairing lights. Today, the residents are moving back home.

"It is a very special moment," said Dr. Barry Zeltzer, the home's executive director. "It's a time when we can be thankful for what we have. It was a catastrophe and a crisis that the residents went through, but none of them were hurt. Today is a day to be thankful."

The home was established 105 years ago and Helen Keller, the renowned blind-and-deaf author, speaker, and advocate for rights for the disabled, was a board member in the early 1900s. Its three-level building on Water Street was just two years old.

By 9 a.m. today, the first two residents had arrived at the home on Water Street. Zeltzer picked up one resident himself at Essex Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Beverly. The man, in his 40's, had one question: What about Beta?

"He was worried about how is fish was going to get here," Zeltzer said with a chuckle. Beta, the fish, came with the man as they moved him back home.

All but one of the 60 residents plan on coming back, Zeltzer said, with the one holdout staying with family for the time being. The staff has a low-key day planned for the homecoming: Lots of time to unpack clothes and organize rooms. There are a few therapeutic activities scheduled, Zeltzer said, and, of course, the chef has planned a smorgasbord of their home-cooked favorites, which include lots of chicken dishes.

"It's home sweet home," Zeltzer said. "It's a magical moment in history. It's just been one long haul."

Posted by aryan at 9:49 AM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2007

Student reportedly talked of killing

By Michael Levenson and Brian R. Ballou
GLOBE STAFF

SUDBURY -- John Odgren, the 16-year-old sophomore accused of fatally stabbing a freshman at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, was enrolled in a program there that closely monitors special education students for emotional and social problems and had no record of violent behavior, a town official and a person who works with the program said yesterday.

But students said yesterday that Odgren had often boasted of violence; Ben Wasserman, 17, a senior, said Odgren told students last week that he kept a gun at home and had ''once tried to kill someone.''

Town leaders say that as they struggle to understand the death Friday of 15-year-old James Alenson, they want to break through the divide between what students heard Odgren say and which information, if any, they relayed to teachers, counselors, and parents.

''We clearly are going to have to look to see if there were signs. Kids at this age say a lot of things, and it's hard to separate the signal from the noise,'' said Gary A. Taylor, a Lincoln selectman. ''And we are just going to have to see whether or not there are indications that we missed somehow. There's no way to assess at this point whether that's the case or not.''

John M. Ritchie, the school's principal and superintendent of the district, said last night that the school will establish a system, such as a tip line, that would make it easier for students to alert adults to any suspicious behavior. It will also urge students to talk to those who work at the school if they have concerns that a student might commit a violent act.

''I think what we need to do is be even clearer to them that they can talk to us about anything that scares them or is of concern to them, and give them an official way to report any concerns or rumors that they might hear,'' Ritchie said.

Odgren spoke to Wasserman last week when he and several friends sat next to Odgren in the school cafeteria, Wasserman said.

''He looked up at us and said, 'How many people have you killed in the virtual world?''' Wasserman said yesterday. Wasserman said he laughed off the comment, assuming it was a reference to a video game.

But then Odgren said, ''I once tried to kill a person for real,'' Wasserman said. ''We didn't know what to say,'' Wasserman said. ''We were stunned.'' But, he added, ''We didn't expect anything to come of it.''

None of the students said they had talked to an adult about their conversations with Odgren.

Prosecutors have said that the timing of the stabbing, before the start of school Friday, strongly suggests that the crime was premeditated, but yesterday declined to provide more information on the investigation. Odgren pleaded not guilty in court on Friday.

Odgren, who lives in Princeton, attends Lincoln-Sudbury because he is enrolled in a special education program called Great Opportunities, or GO for short. At Odgren's arraignment Friday, his attorney, Jonathan Shapiro, said the teenager had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a mild form of autism, and a hyperactivity disorder, and had been taking several medications. Shapiro yesterday declined to identify the medications. Odgren's parents, Paul and Dorothy, could not be reached for comment.

Great Opportunities ''provides a welcoming place for students whose significant emotional and/or psychiatric disabilities have interfered with their ability to access public education without the intensive support provided at GO,'' according to the group's website.

Any violent behavior would have triggered an immediate response by program staff, including meetings, discussions about the student, evaluation by a clinical team, and potential removal from the school, said an official who works with the program and an official who works with the school.

Great Opportunities has a full-time coordinator, two counseling assistants, and a clinical psychologist who frequently visits the school, according to the website. The officials said the specialists are well trained in emotional disorders and closely monitor students. The officials asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak about the case.

Students described Odgren as a loner who was often teased for wearing a trench coat in the halls, like the killers at Columbine High School. And he often spoke about violence, they said.

Chris McDermott, 15, a freshman at Lincoln-Sudbury, said he had a long conversation with Odgren a day before the homicide.

McDermott said Odgren talked at length about a book in which the character dies at the end. He said Odgren seemed fascinated by a part of the book that describes the dripping sound of blood. He said Odgren was an avid reader and loved Stephen King novels, but did not seem capable of committing a crime.

''When I saw him on the news, I was surprised and shocked,'' McDermott said. ''I just thought it was impossible that he could do what they said he did.''

Early in the school year, Jared Pandolfi, a 17-year-old senior, saw Odgren searching the Internet on a school computer for information about a ''homemade bomb,'' Pandolfi said yesterday. Pandolfi said he thought at the time that Odgren might have been conducting research for a school project.

William J. Keller Jr., chairman of the Sudbury Board of Selectmen, said he was concerned that students might not have reported Odgren's remarks to school staff.

''It may not seem cool, but they really should tell someone because maybe it is something, and they're not in the position to make a judgment about whether it is a threat or not,'' Keller said yesterday. ''They need to maybe tell us more and let someone make that judgment. I think that's an important lesson and message to get out of this.''

Yesterday, approximately 200 parents and students went to the school to meet with crisis counselors and school staff. On their way, they passed a makeshift memorial of candles and a sign on the front door that read: ''In memory of James Alenson. Our thoughts are with you and your family.''

''I think everybody is in a state of shock,'' said Sharon Kerns, the mother of a 16-year-old junior, Natalie, who attended the meeting. Still, she said, ''I feel like it's safe. This was a very random, isolated attack that could have happened anywhere.''

Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said he attended the meeting to ''help them heal.'' He said that the gathering of parents and students, who met in a lecture hall, was somber. ''There's no reason to believe, based on everything we know, that this isn't a safe school,'' he added.

Some students agreed.

''We are known as a very liberal school and the students do have a lot of freedom, but I don't feel anything was in our power to stop this,'' Alexandra Sliwkowski, a 16-year-old junior, said in a telephone interview. ''I do feel if a student was intent on committing a crime, he would do so. It just happened to take place here.''

Grace Peng, a board member of the Asperger's Association of New England and a resident of Lincoln, said children with Asperger syndrome are generally nonviolent. ''Any mom would feel horrible about what happened,'' said Peng. ''The biggest thing I want people to understand is that I don't think this thing is because this kid has Asperger's. Asperger's doesn't make anyone more or less violent than anyone else.''

Children with Asperger syndrome are often highly intelligent but lack social skills; they fixate on certain topics and chat about them constantly.

Often they are unable to read other people's body language or facial cues. Attending regular schools can help them learn social skills, Peng said, but it has a down side. Because children with Asperger's lack social skills, they are often bullied in school or ostracized, she said, and some have clinical depression.

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com. Maria Sacchetti and Tracy Jan of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent
Calvin Hennick contributed to this report.

Posted by aryan at 6:26 PM | Comments (0)

Boston police to expand homicide unit

By Suzanne Smalley
GLOBE STAFF

Offering the first details of his vision for the Boston Police Department as it confronts a wave of violent crime, new Commissioner Edward F. Davis said he will substantially increase the size of the homicide unit, make it more racially diverse, and reduce detectives' other duties in a bid to solve more slayings.

''It will substantially increase our resources in response to a homicide scene,'' Davis said in an interview with Globe, previewing plans that he will further detail in the coming days. ''We've really focused our attention on homicides and shootings. This is a step in that direction.''

Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said the commissioner plans to bolster the current pool of 22 homicide detectives by at least 25 percent.

Davis said he hopes the changes will improve the department's clearance rate, the proportion of cases in which suspects are arrested and identified the same year as the homicide.

The unit cleared 38 percent of the 74 homicides last year and 29 percent of the 75 committed in 2005, when Boston hit a 10-year high. Those rates are far lower than the 70 percent cleared in 2002. According to the FBI, about 62 percent of homicide cases nationwide were cleared in 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available.

Community leaders say the low clearance rate has fostered a culture of lawlessness in which unsolved slayings breed more slayings as killers see they can literally get away with murder.

''We need results,'' said the Rev. Miniard Culpepper, a Dorchester minister who fasted after one of his parishioners, Jahmol Norfleet, was gunned down Nov. 28. Norfleet, a former gang leader, helped preserve a truce between gangs.

''When you don't see the consequences for yourself or anyone you know, you just go and do it again,'' Culpepper said.

Police have arrested a 19-year-old Everett man who they say had two guns in his car linked to Norfleet's shooting, but no one has been
charged with the killing.

Davis said he will make the homicide unit -- now composed of 15 white detectives, six of whom are black and one who is Hispanic -- more
diverse because more minority detectives will increase trust in the Police Department and help solve cases.

The commissioner is also freeing homicide detectives from other duties so they can focus on solving cases. Now, they also respond to arsons and unattended deaths, and are responsible for complex and time-consuming investigations when a police officer is involved in a shooting. Davis said he will shift those assignments to other officers and will also increase the help district detectives provide homicide investigators.

''Our aim is .... to better focus the investigators' caseloads on homicides,'' Davis said.

The new commissioner, who has vowed to increase community policing in Boston, also outlined other changes on his agenda, including:

-- Overhauling training for recruits, officers, and commanders, including having them listen to residents who have been victims of police harassment.

-- Raising more money from the business community to better fund and advertise the department's anonymous crime tips hotline.

-- Ordering all members of the command staff to patrol in districts on Fridays to improve communication between management and beat cops.

-- Increasing the presence of motorcycle, bicycle, and other high-visibility patrols in neighborhoods plagued by gun violence.

Davis said he is experimenting with that strategy in the Bowdoin Street and Geneva Avenue area of Dorchester, where Jason Fernandes, 14, was slain on New Year's Day, a killing that remains unsolved.

''If the numbers drop there, then we're going to apply it to other hot spot areas in the community,'' Davis said.

A source familiar with the commissioner's agenda said Davis plans to make a department-wide announcement supporting the gang truce, signed last summer between the H-Block gang in Roxbury and the rival Heath Street gang in Jamaica Plain, and encouraging more agreements like it.

A police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans have not been publicly announced said the commissioner also intends to increase oversight of district captains by having them report to deputy superintendents who will be responsible for parts of the city.

Davis, 50, has been to at least six community meetings since taking over last month after 12 years as the top cop in Lowell.

At a meeting with South End residents on Wednesday, Davis told them that he is considering whether to assign gang unit officers to public housing developments so they can build relationships with residents while also increasing enforcement.

The commissioner also said he will boost patrols in the area around Jackson Square and Bromley-Heath, especially in the evening hours when children are riding the bus home, in response to the unsolved slaying of 13-year-old Luis Gerena on Jan. 12.

At the meeting, Davis was confronted by a young man who grew up in the Villa Victoria housing development. Calvin Feliciano, director of constituent services for City Councilor Felix D. Arroyo, told Davis he was routinely harassed by police as a teenager. Feliciano said he was stopped by police as many as eight times a day.

''Our parents would come out crying because they'd want to know why their kids have their pants down and a police officer is searching them while they were just walking down the street because they fit some kind of description,'' Feliciano told Davis in front of a crowd of about 100.

Davis responded by inviting Feliciano to talk to recruits at the police academy and by giving residents his phone number so they can call him directly if they experience such harassment.

Davis said he would not rest until he changes the department's culture so that it fully embraces community policing, with every officer making an effort to get to know residents.

''It's gonna take time to retool an organization of 2,100 people,'' Davis said in the interview. ''You have to give us a chance.''

Suzanne Smalley can be reached at ssmalley@globe.com.

Posted by aryan at 6:26 PM | Comments (0)

More vocational schools preparing students for college

By Maria Sacchetti
GLOBE STAFF

More vocational schools across Massachusetts are preparing their students for colleges, some as elite as MIT, shedding a long-held reputation for steering students only toward blue-collar professions.

Nearly half of the state's vocational students now enroll in a two or four-year college after graduation, more than double the rate in 1990, according to the state. Some schools are urging more students to take the SAT and even offering college-level Advanced Placement classes -- many in the last five years.

Most schools, prodded by the state, are finding ways to teach high-level math and English lessons in traditional shop classes.

Plumbing students at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School work with trigonometry teachers to install pipes. At Lexington's Minuteman Regional High, carpentry students were assigned to read Thoreau when they built a replica of his Walden Pond cabin.

School officials say they are focusing more on college because the state and employers are demanding higher academic skills. Since 2003 all students have had to pass the MCAS to graduate from high school, and federal and state officials say many new jobs in the trades will require college-level skills.

Eighty-three Massachusetts school systems have vocational programs serving more than 63,000 students in grades 9-12; more than a third of the programs are in separate vocational schools.

Jonathon Pasquale, an Assabet Valley senior who is specializing in plumbing, said he studies calculus, pre-engineering and government one week and learns to unclog drains the next, which is a typical schedule for a vocational school student. He is planning to attend a four-year state college in the fall.

"I had people who told me, 'Oh, don't go to a vocational school. ... You're ruining your life,'" said Pasquale, who is considering studying criminal justice and having a second career in plumbing. "I made the best choice possible."

Vocational school officials concede that the strictly college bound might fare better in regular high schools where virtually all students are pushing for college. Vocational schools do not offer as many AP classes as regular schools and their test scores still lag behind the best suburban schools. Many vocational schools still have few students taking the SAT, and some trades are more focused on college than others.

But vocational schools say they are raising test scores and promoting college, even as they hold onto their mainstays such as carpentry or plumbing. They are adding programs or classes -- such as pre-engineering or biotechnology -- from white-collar fields.

Some schools, such as Minuteman, are even calling their trades "majors" and quietly dropping the word "vocational" from the name of the school.

They are also raising state MCAS scores. At first, failure rates were high at many vocational schools, but now more than 90 percent of their students pass the test to graduate from high school.

Posted by aryan at 2:59 PM | Comments (0)

Readers react online to Lincoln-Sudbury stabbing

As crisis counselors offered their services at Lincoln-Subury Regional High school today, on-line readers reacted with shock to the stabbing Friday.

The stabbing generated a debate about weapons in school and about special needs children, and led to memorial postings on facebook.com.

"This is a terrible tragedy and puts all athletic events college applications and everything else in perspective.....to all those who knew and loved james i feel for you..i don't even know what else to say....'' Will Kussin, Concord-Carlisle High Schol, wrote on facebook.com.

"For the most part, nothing much happens in this upscale town,'' writes one poster on Democratic Underground. "When tragedy or violence happens, people interviewed on television tend to all say the same thing: "I can't believe it", "How could it happen HERE". etc. The truth is, that it CAN happen anywhere ---- even "here".''

Adds another: "I went to LS and graduated in 88.. Hard to believe anyone would ever bring a knife into that school..''

On another site, Publicola writes: "Didn't someone claim that gun free schools were safer? That no one would be seriously hurt if we'd just make sure those vile implements were illegal to possess on school grounds? Well I again beg to differ.''

A student from neighboring Concord writes on her online journal: "We found out during D block, and by E block, the entire school knew. Apparently, the kid who did the stabbing had Asperger's Syndrome, and was on medication, which I'm sure had an affect. Also, by personal experience, working with a kid at camp who HAS Asperger's, they need to know what is going to happen and are huge on planning and just pretty much knowing- perhaps the killing was planned, but I guess we'll never know for sure. The boy could have been getting teased and may have had a knife on him for his own protection.''

Also on facebook, a student from Lincoln-Sudury High School writes:

"It finally snowed last night and i wonder if james was as happy as i was. i wonder if he went outside and watched it fall down on him as i did and just enjoyed one of the simplest pleasures of life. may god's love be with you james. ''

Another Lincoln-Sudbury student wrote:

"Yesterday was a horrible tragedy. No one knew it was coming. I remember coming up the stairs near the libary and going into east house and then coming out and seeing a boy near the bathroom lying on the ground making odd noices i didnt think anything of it because I thought he was just playing around and joking so I walked away. know that I know it was real I feel bad I didnt do anything like call for help. I watched a boy die right in front of me. I did not know James but I wish I did. I feel for his family and there loss I know it feels to loose someone you love to violence like what happened yesterday. Yesterday was a lesson learned. Even if you do not like a person or think they are wierd cus they act differnet or dress different we should treat everyone the same. R.I.P JAMES♥''

Posted by ddahl at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2007

Victim was 'an innocent little kid' with good grades

By Tracy Jan
and Stephanie Ebbert
GLOBE STAFF

Easy-going with a shy smile, James Alenson was a good student with a dry sense of humor who got along well with peers, recalled former classmates and his former speech team coach at Wilson Middle School in Natick.

The 15-year-old Alenson, whose family had moved to Sudbury from Natick last fall, was stabbed to death Friday morning, allegedly by another student in a boys’ bathroom at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School after a dispute.

‘‘I cannot imagine him getting into a confrontation with anybody,’’ said Deanie Goodman, who coached the boy for two years on Wilson Middle’s speech team. ‘‘He was a really sweet kid, somewhat shy, a little bit quiet, and really easy-going. I could not believe this would happen to a kid like that.’’

Alenson was not a master orator and had joined the speech team at his parents’ urging. But he was a good sport about going to weekly practices after school and cheered his younger sister, a team member and a great speaker, Goodman said.

Former classmates said that Alenson, tall and lanky with sandy blond hair and blue eyes, kept to himself and never caused trouble. But he would not allow classmates to pick on him, often retorting back when teased, students said. They do not recall him getting into physical fights.

‘‘When people would make fun of him, he wouldn’t let it go,’’ said Cassie Kosky, 15, a freshman at Natick High School who had gone to school with Alenson before he moved. ‘‘He wouldn’t flip out, but would come up with a remark.’’

Alenson played trumpet in his middle school band and in Lincoln-Sudbury’s concert band, students from both schools said yesterday.

Mike Cho, 14, a Natick High freshman who played in the band with Alenson in the middle school, said the teenager was creative. The boys were friends in the sixth grade, Cho said, and he liked going to Alenson’s house to play video games.

Former Natick classmates said Alenson was typically an A student at the middle school.

Antone Wilson, 15 and a Natick High freshman, said that whenever he would ask Alenson for the answers to a test, Alenson would say no.

Wilson emphasized that while quiet, Alenson was no pushover.
‘‘He wouldn’t let people bully him around,’’ Wilson said.

Jeff Scannell, 15, has known Alenson since the boys were about 9 years old and they attended the same speech therapy class. In eighth grade last year, they were in the same math and English honors classes. Alenson liked to spend his time reading and writing and rarely interrupted class, Scannell said.

‘‘He was a nice kid to be around,’’ said Scannell, a Natick High freshman. ‘‘He wouldn’t say one bad thing about another student. He was easy to talk to.’’

Lynn Rome, whose son attended the eighth grade with Alenson, said her son and his friend described Alenson as an ‘‘extremely bright, studious, and very friendly boy.’’

‘‘We’re devastated,’’ Rome said. ‘‘They were shocked that it could happen in the first place, but to him of all people.’’

Samantha Abrams, 18, a senior from Sudbury said she was a ‘‘peer connector’’ for freshmen, including Alenson.

‘‘He was really quiet and shy,’’ Abrams said. ‘‘He was just an innocent little kid and he didn’t deserve anything like this.’’

Posted by mbrelis at 10:08 PM | Comments (0)

Boston soldier killed in Iraq

By Megan Tench
GLOBE STAFF

Gregroy A. Wright came to Boston from Jamaica at 19, wanting to be closer to his father and to seize all the opportunities America had to offer.

After settling down on Tremont Street, making friends, and even applying for college, the young man decided that he wanted to show how grateful he was to be an American by enlisting in the National Guard for six years and later joining the Army full time.

On Sunday, Jan. 13, the combat engineer was killed in Muqdadiyah, 60 miles from Baghdad, when a bomb exploded near his vehicle during combat operations.

Assigned to the First Engineer Battalion, First Brigade, First Infantry Division in Fort Riley, Kan., Sergeant Wright, 28, leaves a 3-year-old daughter, Tiaja, his father, Conroy Wright, 51, said through tears Friday.

‘‘She was his heart,’’ Wright said of his granddaughter, as he greeted relatives and friends who streamed through his door to offer their condolences.

‘‘I keep wiping my eyes; I haven’t slept,’’ said Wright, a maintenance worker at the Boston YWCA. ‘‘My son, he walked proudly. He was so smart as a child in Jamaica. He took part in all his church services.

Full of ambition, Gregroy Wright was eager to make a positive life for himself, make a good living, and be a strong provider, his father said.

‘‘I had such high expectations for him,’’ Wright said. ‘‘He applied for Boston College, but then he changed his mind and said he wanted to join the Army National Guard.’’

Gregroy Wright signed up for six years, and he enjoyed military service so much that he joined the Army full time, said his father and friends.

‘‘His mates, in the Army, they had a loyal soldier in Gregroy,’’ said Doyen Dunkley, owner of a barber shop on Massachusetts Avenue and a family friend. ‘‘I was very close to Gregroy Wright. He was so laid back and easygoing. He saw how coming to America helped his father, so he decided he wanted to come here, too.’’

Army life became his true calling, Dunkley said.

‘‘He was very proud to wear the uniform,’’ he reminisced with a chuckle. ‘‘Even when he came back home from training, he didn’t take it off for a couple of hours. I guess he liked the whole soldier thing. After coming here, he felt like a lot of immigrants from Jamaica do. He wanted to try and support America. He felt like he came here to get opportunities, and he knew that if he worked hard, he’ll get what he wants.’’

Sadly, Gregroy Wright’s dreams of life in America was cut short.
Last Saturday, Army officers, accompanied by a chaplain, knocked on Conroy Wright’s door, and he has not stopped crying since, he said. ‘‘I’ve trying to hold up the best I can,’’ the father said in a whisper.

Word of the death spread quickly.

‘‘All kinds of people have called and come here since Sunday,’’ he said. ‘‘My son, he got along with everybody, but I didn’t know just how many people loved him until now.’’

A memorial service was held Thursday at Fort Riley in Gregroy Wright’s honor, said a spokesman.

Megan Tench can be reached at mtench@globe.com.

Posted by mbrelis at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)

The next body armor design gets a show in Natick

By Megan Woolhouse
GLOBE STAFF

NATICK — The Army’s Natick research center showed off the next generation in body armor Friday to Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey, but it’s not scheduled to get on the battlefield for three years.

The new body armor hangs on a frame 2 inches from a soldier’s body, a design that researchers say limits the impact and injury from a roadside bomb or mortar shell.

Sergeant Joshua Devereaux modeled the gear for Harvey, who asked what he thought of it.

‘‘I’d take this system right now,’’ the sergeant said. But Devereaux and other soldiers will have to wait.

The new armor remains under development and has not been funded by Congress. Harvey and General Benjamin S. Griffin, head of Army Materiel Command, held classified meetings on body armor during a one-day tour of the US Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick.

US Representative Martin T. Meehan, a Lowell Democrat, said that while the military has improved its performance, it still needs to find ways to get the new armor to soldiers and Marines sooner, especially with the additional troops headed to Iraq.

‘‘We’re still not giving soldiers the proper body armor to protect themselves,’’ Meehan said. ‘‘The higher-ups are always saying we do, but when you talk to people, you find out we’re not getting them the best technology. I think it’s embarrassing.’’

Such criticisms are not new. Early in the Iraq war, soldiers and their families were spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on protective gear they said the military was not providing. In 2005, Pentagon leaders agreed to reimburse soldiers who bought their own body armor, but six months later the Pentagon reversed its stand, banning the practice. Officials said at the time that they had questions about commercial product quality and could not guarantee the equipment’s effectiveness.

There have also been calls for side armor for additional protection. Last January, The New York Times reported that a secret Pentagon study found that as many as 80 percent of the Marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had extra body armor. Such side armor has been available since 2003, the newspaper reported, but has not been routinely available to troops.

Meeting with reporters in Natick yesterday, Harvey defended the time it takes to get equipment to the field. He said the number of armored Humvees, for example, increased from hundreds to tens of thousands between 2003 and 2005.

‘‘I come from private industry,’’ he said. ‘‘And I don’t think anybody in private industry could have responded that quickly.’’
The military currently issues Interceptor body armor, a vest that hangs over a soldier’s torso and is made out of Kevlar and ceramic plates. When struck by mortar or gunfire, even at close range, it can absorb much of the impact.

But the plates still pack a punch, an impact that can crack a soldier’s sternum, break a rib, or cause serious bruising, said Natick engineer Jean-Louis ‘‘Dutch’’ DeGay.

The next generation of body armor, called the Chassis, is also made of Kevlar and ceramic, but the plates are 12 percent larger, 2 to 4 pounds lighter, and hang from a shoulder frame inches from the body. The new body armor also includes two underarm panels about 8 inches long, which hang about an inch from the body and provide more protection.

‘‘That was one of the lessons learned from the Interceptor,’’ DeGay said.

The redesign is part of a broader effort by the Army to create the Future Force Warrior, rethinking everything from the design of helmets to T-shirts. Much of the emphasis is on how to incorporate more technology into standard uniforms, including heart rate monitors, computers, and global positioning systems.

The Natick center develops rations, clothing, and other equipment. Harvey also inspected the latest Meals Ready to Eat (such as chicken pesto with bowtie pasta) and saw a parade of new, wrinkle-free, fade-resistant uniforms. The center employs about 1,100 civilians, 750 contractors, and 150 military personnel.

Megan Woolhouse can be reached at mwoolhouse@globe.com.

Posted by mbrelis at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

Outline for new insurance plan proposed

By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff

Struggling to balance protection from catastrophic medical expenses with affordability, a state panel today outlined for the first time the essential requirements for health insurance coverage to meet the mandate that all Massachusetts residents obtain insurance. The price tag is far higher than the panel had anticipated -- approximately $380 a month on average for an individual.

The minimum plan would have to cover roughly 50 percent of all medical costs and include prescription drug coverage, according to the proposal that will be voted on Monday by the full board of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority.

The plan could have a deductible no higher than $2,000 per individual, $4,000 per family, and would have to limit out-of-pocket expenses to no more than $5,000 for an individual and $7,500 for a family. Before the deductible kicks in, the plan would also have to include some preventive medical visits and coverage of at least generic drugs.

For the uninsured who do not qualify for state-subsidized plans -- an estimated 160,000 people -- this would likely be the least expensive plan they could buy. Some of the premiums would likely be subsidized by employers.

To meet the state mandate, at least 40,000 people who now have health insurance would also likely have to buy new plans, since their coverage would not meet the new standards, Connector officials said. Under the state's universal health insurance law, everyone in the state must obtain insurance coverage by July 1 or pay a penalty.

The recommendations of the five-member Policy Committee of the Connector board were not unanimous on all the issues, as members argued about how prescriptive the rules should be. After the full 10-member board votes on the requirements Monday, there will be a public hearing on Feb. 16, after which the rules could be revised again.

Posted by kweintraub at 5:04 PM | Comments (0)

DA: Suspect in school slaying told investigators 'I did it'

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

Students talked on cell phones outside Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School this morning after one of their classmates was stabbed to death inside a school bathroom.

By Brian R. Ballou and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A 16-year-old student pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges today after prosecutors accused him of stabbing a classmate to death inside a bathroom at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.

John Odgren appeared in Framingham District Court wearing a white hooded jump suit and black wire-rim glasses. His father stood motionless in the front row of the public gallery as his mother, dressed in a nurse's uniform, leaned against her husband.

Middlesex County prosecutor Daniel Bennett told the judge that Odgren attacked 15-year-old James Alenson inside a school bathroom with a long knife just after 7 a.m. Bennett alleged that Odgren stabbed Alenson twice and said the blade pieced the freshman's heart. Thirty minutes after the attack, Alenson was found in a hallway in a pool of blood without a pulse, Bennett said.

In the principal's office, Bennett said that Odgren told investigators: "I did it. I did it."

Odgren also pleaded not guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds.

Outside court, defense attorney Jonathan Shapiro said Odgren had been under the care of doctors for psychological illnesses for years and took numerous medications.

"I know my client and his family feel for the victim and his family," Shapiro said.

Alenson, a freshman from Sudbury, was rushed to Emerson Hospital in Concord and pronounced dead at 8:12 a.m., said Bonnie Goldsmith, a hospital spokeswoman.

At a press conference earlier in the day, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr. would not discuss what investigators suspect may have motivated the stabbing.

"What we believe now is that this is an isolated incident between these two students," Leone said. "There is no thought or belief that anyone else is in danger at this time."

Dozens of parents rushed to the school on Lincoln Road where there are about 1,600 students. The school went on lock-down for the next few hours as students were brought to the gymnasium. At about 10 a.m., all the students were sent home for the day, according to an e-mail school officials sent to parents in Sudbury.

High school Superintendent and Principal John Ritchie said at the press conference that teachers and staff were "obviously heart broken dealing with this." As recently as Wednesday, the faculty had met with police from Sudbury and Lincoln to discuss the high school's emergency safety response plan.

"That didn't prevent this from happening," Ritchie said. "But it did help us have a sense of how to respond, how to be calm, how to reassure students, where to go, how to listen to announcements. For me, that's a small consolation right now obviously what we are dealing with is the heartbreak of this student dying."

The response drew praise from State Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll, who extended his condolence to the victim's family in what he called "everyone's worst nightmare."

"Fortunately, the school and local authorities were well prepared and responded immediately," Driscoll said in a statement. "As a result, no one else was injured, the school was put into temporary lockdown quickly, and the entire student body was sent home safely soon after."

Grief counselors will be available today and through the weekend for students at the high school, Leone said.

At the time of the stabbing, Dr. Robert Sackstein, a physician at Harvard Medical School, had just dropped off his two twins, who are both freshmen at the high school. Sackstein didn't know someone had been stabbed at the time and was frustrated because he said he could have offered some medical assistance.

Several hours later he got a frantic phone call from his wife and rushed back to the school to get his children.

"The fact that it happened in Sudbury, Massachusetts," Sackstein said, "means that it can happen anywhere."

Posted by aryan at 4:00 PM | Comments (0)

Menino, police vow crackdown during Patriots' game

By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis today warned college students and bar owners in the city that police would act swiftly to curb rowdiness and excessive alcohol consumption during and after Sunday's American Football Conference championship game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts.

Flanked by police department brass and chiefs of the police forces of major universities at a City Hall press conference, a stern-faced Menino said: "Over the past we've had some bad experiences after these play-off games ... The police department is well organized for the event on Sunday."

He said that, in addition to cautioning students, the city has put bar owners on notice that all alcohol laws will be enforced and has instructed barkeepers not to allow live television broadcasts from their premises during the game. Such broadcasts create an environment that encourages rowdy behavior, Menino said.

Davis said police staffing would be increased by more than 100 officers during and after the game, and that undercover details would be sent into bars in an effort to ensure that people who were drunk were not served more alcohol. He said drunks would be taken into protective custody, and the bar would be cited for over-serving them. Locations to which kegs of beer have been delivered in the days leading up to the game also will be subject to surveillance, he said.

When the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, Victoria Snelgrove, a 21-year-old Emerson College student, died after being hit by a pepper-pellet gun that police officers fired into a rowdy crowd of revelers.

Posted by aryan at 3:05 PM | Comments (0)

Other students say suspect in HS slaying talked about weapons and bombs

By Ralph Ranalli, Globe Staff

Classmates at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School today described the 16-year-old who is accused of stabbing another student to death as a social outcast whose inappropriate behavior rang alarm bells.

The alleged attacker, John Odgren, wore trench coats to school, and often a fedora and small, round black sunglasses indoors. He appeared to have few friends, but would boast to anyone within earshot that he had a collection of weapons and that he knew about internet sites were weapons could be purchased, said junior Brianna Hodge, 16.

"He was just a really sketchy kid, he was always making references to killings and weapons and bombs," Hodge said. "He once asked the chemistry teacher for some acid to continue making a bomb."

Odgren also seemed to have problems relating to other students, and would follow girls around and make inappropriate comments, she said.

"He wasn't quite a stalker, but he kept asking my friend out, very persistent, very creepy," she said. "He just wouldn't take no for an answer."

Katie Crowley, also a junior, said Odgren, who also took a course in crime scene forensics at the school, which is located just a few miles from the State Police Laboratory, was the butt of frequent jokes about another Columbine High School-type massacre.

"Who would honesty be like, I want to go out and kill someone," she said. "I think he did it for the attention."

Posted by aryan at 2:51 PM | Comments (0)

Boston soldier killed in Iraq

By Globe Staff

A 28-year-old soldier from Boston was killed late last week in Iraq, according to an announcement issued today by the Department of Defense.

Sergeant Gregroy A. Wright died on Jan. 13 in Muqdadiyah after a roadside bomb exploded near the vehicle he was in during combat operations.

Wright served with the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based in Fort Riley, Kan.

Posted by aryan at 2:34 PM | Comments (0)

Statement from Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll

What happened at Lincoln-Sudbury today is everyone's worst nightmare. This appears to have been an isolated incident between two students, but it is still a horrific tragedy and will have a lasting impact on both students, faculty and the community.

The presence of violence in our society today is almost incomprehensible. It is only made worse when it occurs between young people and impacts the lives of our children. A tragedy of this magnitude defies explanation.

Fortunately, the school and local authorities were well prepared and responded immediately. As a result, no one else was injured, the school was put into temporary lockdown quickly, and the entire student body was sent home safely soon after.

Right now our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim of this incident, as well as the family of the alleged attacker. It is critical that we do more to protect our children from experiencing or witnessing violence of this magnitude in their schools and communities.

Posted by aryan at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)

Boston teacher accused of using dead brother's identity to conceal arrests

By Globe Staff

A middle school physical education teacher who used his dead brother's identity for 10 years to escape arrest on numerous criminal charges has been suspended from his job, Jonathan Palumbo, a spokesman for the Boston public schools, said last night.

Police say Richard Young, a teacher in Boston schools for 20 years, was arrested last week in Hingham on suspicion of drunken driving. Young identified himself as Robert Young, but a subsequent fingerprint analysis found him to be Richard Young, who is wanted by Braintree, Wareham, and State Police on a variety of charges, including felony motor vehicle theft.

Young used his real identity when applying to be a teacher in Boston, but school officials say his lengthy employment with the system meant he wasn't subject to a preemployment background check. School officials said yesterday that all employees who haven't yet undergone the checks will, but over 1,000 unchecked teachers and administrators remain working.

Posted by aryan at 9:27 AM | Comments (0)

City wins order barring school strike

By Globe Staff

Public school teachers will not be allowed to vote on a one-day strike proposal posed by Boston Teachers Union officials earlier this month, the Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission ruled yesterday.

The order that the union halt the strike vote was issued after the Boston public schools petitioned for an investigation, citing a state law barring public employee unions from striking, according to school spokesman Jonathan Palumbo. The union has been locked in contract negotiations with the city since last January and Teachers have been working without a contract since September.

Union officials have lambasted the School Committee for plans to increase health insurance costs for teachers and to lift class-size limits. The union last went on strike in 1993.

Posted by aryan at 9:23 AM | Comments (0)

January 18, 2007

Iraq ambush kills former Bay State woman

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

Colleagues recalled Andrea "Andi" Parhamovich on Thursday as a vivacious public relations specialist who cut her teeth in Bay State politics. But none of them would have predicted her final career destination: Iraq.

As the war escalated and the body count mounted, the Ohio native moved to Baghdad two years ago to train Iraqi politicians in the finer points of democracy. Many of those politicians Thursday mourned her death at age 28.

Parhamovich, a former aide to Governor Jane Swift, was killed Wednesday after her three-vehicle convoy was ambushed in a hail of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. Three members of her security detail were also killed and two were wounded.

Her death underscored a hidden toll of the war: the more than 400 US civilian workers killed. Nearly 75,000 such workers are currently in Iraq.

Parhamovich, who grew up and went to college in Ohio but started her career in Massachusetts, had been working for the National Democratic Institute, a nonprofit that is helping Iraqi leaders build political institutions. She was the institute’s first full-time staff member killed in Iraq.

Parhamovich "believed passionately in helping to improve the lives of Iraqi citizens. This is a tragic loss for the institute and its Iraqi friends," the group’s president, Kenneth Wollack, said in a statement.

Those in Massachusetts who knew her were shocked at her death -- and where it occurred.

"I knew she had a desire to work in the nonprofit and government sector, but when I heard about her passing in Iraq, I was shocked," said Mark Nardone, executive vice president at PAN Communications, a public relations firm in Andover where Parhamovich worked for 15 months in 2000 and 2001.

She left the firm to work as a communications aide in the state Department of Economic Development under Swift. And though it was a Republican administration, Parhamovich did not appear to be overly partisan, as she would later work for Air America Radio, a left-leaning talk show station. She also worked for Mass Insight, a Boston-based public policy institute.

But by the time the Iraq war was raging, co-workers said, Parhamovich had become a political activist committed to fostering democracy abroad. She began work in Iraq with the International Republican Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to helping emerging democracies.

Late last year, she jumped to the National Democratic Institute.
Officials there said she had been utilizing her experience in communications to help Iraqi politicians with voter outreach and constituent services. In a statement Thursday, the institute called her an "energetic activist who inspired her colleagues with creative ideas."

"Andi’s work helped to build the kind of national-level political institutions that can help bridge the sectarian divide," the statement read. "Andi forged impressive relationships with Iraqi political leaders, many of whom have expressed their deep sadness at her murder."

Parhamovich’s convoy had been traveling through Yarmouk, a Sunni-dominated neighborhood in Baghdad, when it came under fire. Her guards who were killed were from Hungary, Croatia, and Iraq, but the institute withheld their names for security reasons.

A Sunni insurgent group linked with Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack. In a posting on an Islamic website often used by radical Islamic groups, they called her an agent of the "Zionist Mossad," a description usually used when a victim’s nationality is unclear to insurgent groups.

The institute’s chairwoman, former US secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright, said the group would carry on Parhamovich’s work.
"There is no more sacred roll of honor than those who have given their last full measure in support of freedom," she said in a statement. "[Thursday] in Iraq, Andrea Parhamovich and our security personnel were enshrined on that list.’’

Material from the Associated Press was also used in this report.

Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)

Regulators eye climbing walls

By Mike Lipka, Globe Correspondent

EVERETT -- At heights of up to 45 feet, with ropes and rocks galore, the artificial climbing walls at MetroRock in Everett are a dream for people who want to climb a mountain, at least a small one indoors.

But, with as many as 1,000 climbing walls in community centers, schools, and private gyms around Massachusetts, state public safety officials are alarmed by the potential for accidents, and they have scheduled a hearing Friday on a proposal to regulate the walls by requiring owners to get annual licenses and pass regular inspections.

"This is an unregulated industry that in the interest of public safety needs to have some regulation and oversight," said Kelly Nantel, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety. "We feel that it’s an accident waiting to happen."

If the regulations are adopted, Massachusetts would become the only state to actively regulate indoor climbing walls as amusement devices. A similar regulatory system was adopted in New Jersey in 2004, but last month a judge ruled the New Jersey Rock Gym couldn’t be considered a "carnival-amusement ride."

The climbing wall rules were proposed as part of the department’s overall effort to increase inspections after three fatal accidents on amusement devices in the past three years. In 2004, two men died on high-speed rides in Agawam and Shrewsbury. In the case of the 2005 death at the Tweeter Center, the state settled with the Danvers amusement company, Just for Fun, which agreed to suspend the use of all inflatable devices 12 feet or taller for the remainder of its license, which was to expire at the beginning of 2006.

Last summer, when the state first held a hearing on the proposed regulations, about 100 people attended to object. After a June hearing, the state delayed the matter until this month, and Zimmermann planned to again be in attendance for Friday’s hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. at One Ashburton Place in Boston.

Over the past few months, Nantel said the Department of Public Safety has made some changes in the proposal after hearing from the climbing industry, including Zimmermann and Pat Enright, the owner of two of Massachusetts’s biggest indoor rock walls. Enright’s first gym, called MetroRock, opened in Everett in 2004. He opened a second facility last year in Newburyport.

"They realized they had no idea what they were talking about," Enright said. "Right now they’ve got a proposed statute that we [climbers] wrote."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)

Commuter crafts must-have item for T riders

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

Colleen Meagher knits on the way to work, riding the Orange Line from Jamaica Plain to Government Center. As she makes doubleknit snowflake hats and wavy cable scarves, she goes unnoticed, save for the occasional strange look.

Now she’s getting quite a bit of buzz as the creator of a new must-have item for the functionally fashionable T rider: the Amazing CharlieCard Mitten.

It’s a warm wool mitten with a buttoned pocket knit on top to hold a CharlieCard snugly. The wearer can just tap the back of the mitten on the automated fare card reader and get on board.

She finished the debut pair on Jan. 15, bragged about it on her blog (subwayknitter.com) the next day, and has been met with envious cyberpraise ever since.

"It works better than even I thought," said Meagher, 31, who is organizing a drawing to win a pair of the mittens, in return for donations to Rosie’s Place, a shelter for homeless women.

Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:32 PM | Comments (0)

Guilty plea in '04 stabbing death of teen in Somerville

By Globe Staff

A 26-year-old man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder today for the fatal stabbing of a teenager during a fight in Somerville in 2004.

Van Gustave was sentenced in Middlesex Superior Court in Lowell to mandatory life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years, according to Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr.'s office.

Gustave admitted that he and a friend got into an argument with Ryan Sullivan, 16, and a few of his friends on Warwick Street on July 1, 2004. The argument escalated, and Sullivan was stabbed to death.

Gustave's friend, Joseph Spinucci, was convicted last year of first-degree murder in connection with the killing.

Posted by aryan at 3:35 PM | Comments (0)

English High to become pilot school

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Teachers in Boston's troubled English High agreed today to turn the school into a Commonwealth Pilot school, converting the 1,300-student facility into a smaller, college preparatory institution starting September.

Under the proposal approved by 81 percent of teachers, the school will mandate tougher graduation requirements, daily courses focused on getting students into college, and a longer school day. The school will be divided into two communities of 400 students each.

The state Board of Education in November had offered English High and three other Massachusetts schools a chance to address problems by becoming pilot schools, a model that gives teachers and principals more flexibility in budgets, schedules and curriculum.

If teachers had voted against the conversion, the state would have designated English High "chronically underperforming" and required it to follow a state-approved reform plan.

Posted by aryan at 3:15 PM | Comments (0)

Snow expected to begin tonight, may complicate Friday's commute

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

This isn't Los Angeles, where snow and sleet crippled traffic on Interstate 5 in the mountains above Malibu, but that doesn't mean Massachusetts can't do winter.

Starting tonight at 8 p.m., the first significant snowfall of the season is expected to dump one to three inches of the white stuff in metropolitan Boston west of Route 128. The storm is expected to continue until early Friday, hitting the early commute with a blast of snow before tapering out after 10 a.m.

"This is what we would expect in Mid-January," said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton. "I don't think people will have completely forgotten what it is."

East of Route 128 and in the city of Boston, warmer temperatures should make the precipitation a slushy mix of rain, snow, and sleet, Foley said.

The weather station at Logan International Airport has only recorded 0.8 inches of snow this winter, Foley said. The average total of snow most winters is 41.8 inches.

When the storm blows over Boston and moves on to Canada, a polar air mass will plunge Massachusetts back into sub-zero temperatures. On Saturday and Sunday, winds whipping up to 35 mph will make it feel as cold as 15 degrees below zero, Foley said.

Posted by aryan at 2:59 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick to charge power plants for carbon dioxide emissions

By Scott Allen, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick announced today that Massachusetts will rejoin the regional effort to slow global warming by charging power plants for their emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas that scientists say is helping to heat up the planet.

Former Governor Mitt Romney pulled Massachusetts out of the seven-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in 2005 amid concerns that the fees on power plants would raise the cost of electricity to the average household by a few dollars a year. But Patrick said the carbon dioxide charges will allow Massachusetts to help the environment and save money at the same time because he plans to invest all the money collected in energy efficiency and clean energy projects.

"Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time," said Patrick, speaking at a scientific briefing on global warming at the University of Massachusetts Boston. "On this day, we want everyone to know that Massachusetts will not stand on the sidelines."

Under the greenhouse gas initiative, power plants with a capacity of 25 megawatts or more will have to pay for each ton of carbon dioxide they release, making power from plants that burn coal, oil, gas, wood, and other fuels slightly more expensive. Patrick's environmental affairs secretary Ian Bowles said the carbon charges will generate $25 million to $125 million per year for energy conservation and funding for renewable energy.

The initiative caps power plant carbon emissions at about 2009 levels through 2015, than will require a 10 percent reduction in those emissions by 2019.

The Globe first reported about Patrick's power plant fees in today's paper. The governor also announced today that state agencies will boost their purchase of electricity from renewable sources such as wind power and trash-burning plants.

Posted by aryan at 2:00 PM | Comments (0)

Bookkeeper charged with dipping into company till

By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe correspondent

An Acushnet woman was arrested today on charges that she embezzled more than $1.1 million from her employer, US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan's office said.

Grace M. Oliver, 38, allegedly forged nearly 450 checks belonging to Superior Drywall of Westport, where she worked as a bookkeeper. According to Sullivan's office, between January 2004 and December 2006, Oliver wrote company checks to herself, her credit card company, her mortgage firm, and other businesses to which she owed money. She alledgedly covered up her activities by entering legitimate payees for each check.

Oliver is charged with five counts of possessing forged securities and if convicted could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Posted by srhee at 1:35 PM | Comments (0)

Coakley's credit card info stolen a week before becoming AG

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Martha Coakley got a first-hand lesson about what it is like to be a victim the week before she took the oath as the new state attorney general.

Rushing to leave for a ski trip before taking office, Coakley got a phone message at home from Dell computers early last week to confirm a $1,200 purchase on her Visa card. The order was about to be shipped to an address in Texas.

"I immediately knew that it was incorrect," Coakley said today in a telephone interview. "I called back and said that I hadn’t placed any orders."

The transaction was cancelled and Coakley cut up her Visa card without being charged for the merchandise, which she assumed was a computer. That was the end of the case because the order was stopped.

As a prosecutor, however, Coakley couldn't help being frustrated that no one was going after the perpetrator. She has no idea how someone got her credit card number -- or how Dell got her home phone number.

"It certainly gave me empathy for the victims of credit card theft," said Coakley, who was sworn in on Wednesday. "It reaffirmed for me that the attorney general’s office has a role to play."

In her new position, Coakley said she plans to work to strengthen the state's fraud and identify theft laws to catch more criminals and help victim's restore their credit ratings.

Posted by aryan at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)

Officials ask for safety check of nuclear plants

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

Federal officials have asked nuclear power plants in Massachusetts and Vermont to check for potential safety problems after a sister plant in Minnesota was shut down after safety concerns.

The Monticello plant has been closed since Jan. 10, when problems developed with a 35,000-pound box that contains steam pressure controls. No radiation was released but Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials alerted the Pilgrim plant in Plymouth and the Vermont Yankee plant in Vernon, as well as plants in New Jersey and New York, because they are similarly designed.

A NRC spokeswoman said today there is no evidence any of the plants have similar problems, though all four will conduct safety reviews in the coming weeks as a precaution.

Posted by srhee at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)

Fire in Charlestown spreads to second building

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Fire destroyed a three-family townhouse on Washington Street in Charlestown today and spread to the vacant building next door, causing an estimated $50,000 in damage.

The blaze started at about 11 a.m. on the third floor of 46 Washington St., according to Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Finn. Neither the first or third floor residents were home at the time. A couple in their mid 50s who was in their apartment on the second floor was able to escape without the assistance of firefighters.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries fighting the blaze at the town houses with clapboard siding. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Finn said.

Posted by aryan at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

Art Buchwald, legendary humor columnist, is dead at 81

(Bill Greene/ Globe Staff)

Art Buchwald, shown above at his summer home, told the Globe in an interview last July that after several months in hospice care, he said to himself, "To hell with it, I'll go to the Vineyard."

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

With wit that never lost its edge, Art Buchwald used his newspaper column to skewer politicians in the nation's capital and over the decades millions of Americans began their morning by reading his unfolding chronicle of history, writ small and satirical. At the end of his life ill health gave him a new subject, his own death, and he wrote his own epitaph in a series of poignant dispatches from a hospice center that he left after outliving his stay.

Mr. Buchwald, who had entered hospice care a year ago when his kidneys failed, died in his Washington, D.C., home Wednesday evening, according to his son, Joel. He was 81 and had published a book last year, "Too Soon to Say Goodbye," that celebrated the unexpected coda in his long life of achievement.

"The purpose of the hospice is to help you pass away gently when all else fails," he wrote. "You are supposed to do it with as little pain as possible and with dignity. It didn't work out that way for me."

After a year-long respite that his son described as "a hell of a victory lap," Mr. Buchwald began receiving hospice care at home 12 days ago. "He died comfortably with his family at his bedside," the family said in a statement.

Mr. Buchwald, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1982, had lived in Washington nearly 45 years, dividing his time between the capital and a second home on Martha's Vineyard for the past 35 years.

"There was no better way to start the day than to open the morning paper to Art's column, laugh out loud and learn all over again to take the issues seriously in the world of politics, but not take yourself too seriously," US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement.

In columns written after entering hospice care, Mr. Buchwald confronted the topic of dying, though with a hint of the puckish observations readers have come to expect when reading a column accompanied by a photo of Mr. Buchwald with his lopsided grin and horn-rimmed glasses.

"By the way, people always talk about heaven as the place where we are all going," he wrote last March. "The problem with thinking about heaven is that you then have to think about hell. The irony of our culture is people are constantly telling other people to go to hell, but no one tells them to go to heaven."

During the weeks after Mr. Buchwald entered the hospice, his room became a place where laughter -- usually his own -- often rang out as his bedside became a mandatory stop-over for the bold-faced name set. A headline for a New York Times report on his hospice room declared, "Washington's Hottest Salon Is a Deathbed."

Instead of dying, his health improved and he left the hospice on July 1.

"The whole point is I didn't expect to be here," he told the Globe in an interview last July at his gray-shingled house on Main Street in Vineyard Haven. "My plan was to leave the earth. And then I thought, to hell with it, I'll go to the Vineyard."

Though he was known for the humor he culled from politics, many younger fans might be surprised to learn that Mr. Buchwald cut his teeth in his 20s writing about restaurants and nightlife for the Paris edition of the New York Herald Tribune. He expanded into writing about celebrities, and the column was first syndicated as "Art Buchwald in Paris."

Against the advice of friends who thought it would be difficult to repeat his Paris success, Mr. Buchwald relinquished his status as arguably the most famous American in the City of Lights and relocated to Washington in the early 1960s. The move made him even more successful. At its height, his column was syndicated to hundreds of newspapers and many of the more than two dozen collections he published were bestsellers.

As a political humorist, he employed a style and an approach that were deceptive in their simplicity. He would tear an article from a newspaper, tuck it in a pocket, and mull the topic -- sometimes for days -- before quickly pounding out a column in unadorned prose that, often as not, turned the topic of the day on its head.

"I can now reliably report that Vice President Spiro Agnew has no intention of dumping Richard Nixon," he wrote in 1971 as Nixon prepared for his re-election campaign. "A spokesman for the Vice President told me that Agnew was very satisfied with the job his President was doing and that he even intended to give him more responsibilities than any Vice President has ever given his President before."

Mr. Buchwald and his wife and children first started going to Martha's Vineyard in 1971, to escape the summer heat in Washington. A few years later a friend, the playwright Lillian Hellman, tipped off the Buchwalds that a 1888 house on Main Street in Vineyard Haven was for sale and they bought it.

Along with using the island as a vacation retreat, Mr. Buchwald served for many years as master of ceremonies and auctioneer at an annual fund-raiser to benefit a consortium of social service agencies.

"I don't know how it happened, but I've become the Jerry Lewis of Martha's Vineyard," he told the Globe in 1996.

In hospice care, Mr. Buchwald retained his sense of humor and took pleasure in being able to eat whatever he wanted after deciding to forego dialysis treatment, which would have prolonged his life, often having McDonald's meals brought in.

"What's beautiful about death is you can say anything you want to, as long as you don't lord it over others that you know something they don't," he wrote in his March 14 column. "The thing that is very important, and why I'm writing this, is that whether they like it or not, everyone is going to go. The big question we still have to ask is not where we're going, but what were we doing here in the first place?"

In addition to his son, who lives in Washington, Mr. Buchwald leaves two daughters Jennifer of Roxbury and Connie Buchwald Marks of Culpeper, Va.; two sisters Edith Jaffe of Bellevue, Wash., and Doris Kahme of Delray Beach, Fla., and Monroe Township, N.J.; and five grandchildren.

A family spokeswoman said Mr. Buchwald will be buried in the Vineyard Haven Cemetery in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., where his wife Ann is buried.

Posted by aryan at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2007

Natick fights to keep "Mall" in the name

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

With upscale stores, luxury condos, and swanky restaurants all planned for an expanded Natick Mall, the owners decided they needed one more thing: a new name.

They decided to streamline the name, chopping off "Mall" and referring to the complex simply as "Natick."

That didn’t sit well with officials and residents in the town of Natick, where the mall is located. Many thought the mall was stealing their community’s moniker.

"The new mall is many things," said Joshua Ostroff, a selectman. "It is residents, it’s shopping, it’s a transportation hub. But it’s not the town of Natick."

With town officials gathering signatures on a petition and preparing to fight the mall’s trademark application for a new logo (which showed a stylized "N" over the single word "Natick"), mall officials Wednesday changed their tune.

"We really regret that our intent was badly misunderstood by people inside the town of Natick," Stephanie Gambino, senior marketing manager for the mall, said Wednesday. "We are no longer going to refer to ourselves as 'Natick.' We’re trying to be good neighbors."

Gambino said the mall’s owners, Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc., have not decided what the complex’s new name will be. The owners probably will keep the stylized "N" as part of the logo, but the word "Natick" will no longer appear alone in marketing materials.

"I’m so glad they listened," said Carol A. Gloff, a selectwoman who said she had gathered a few hundred signatures opposing the proposed name just Wednesday morning. "People are really concerned and upset about it. They’re concerned about confusion. They’re concerned that people are going to start to look at Natick as just being the mall."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)

Weather puts fare boxes -- and revenues -- on ice

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

The cash-strapped MBTA lost more than an hour of fares on numerous bus routes Wednesday morning when dozens of new automated-fare boxes failed on their first true Boston winter day.

The fare boxes, which accept cash, credit cards, and the new automated CharlieCards, run only when their electronics are warmed by an internal heater to at least 20 degrees. The fare boxes, however, must be turned on for the heaters to work.

Wednesday morning, when temperatures hovered at 10 degrees, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus drivers did their morning checks on buses parked outside overnight as they warmed the engines. Many, however, waited until they began their morning runs to turn on their fare boxes, which would not work during their first 10 minutes to 1.5 hours of service during the morning rush hour.

Four of the fare boxes completely failed and were being diagnosed Wednesday, said Joe Kelley, the T’s deputy general manager for modernization.

Faced with dead fare boxes, most drivers allowed passengers to board for free.

T officials declined to provide a specific number of unresponsive or failed fare boxes among the 780 buses that ran Wednesday morning. They also declined to estimate how much revenue was lost, though they said that the majority of bus riders use prepaid monthly passes and that most fare boxes were working by the height of the morning commute.

"Are we disappointed that we did not collect a fare from everyone this morning? Yes," said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)

Police: Man used his late brother’s (driving) id

By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff

Brothers Richard J. Young and Robert D. Young looked a lot alike -- enough that when Richard presented himself as Robert and renewed Robert’s Massachusetts driver’s license in the mid-1990s, the state employees who processed the renewal did not notice.

But the resemblance was only skin deep. Robert, who died in 1994, apparently had no criminal history. Richard, a Boston middle school physical education teacher who assumed his brother’s driving identity, was wanted on a variety of larceny, drug, and motor vehicle charges from the early 1990s, according to Hingham police, who began unraveling the identity switch after a traffic stop Friday night.

Richard Young, a Boston schools employee since 1979, was in Plymouth County Jail Wednesday , barred from his job at McCormack Middle School on Columbia Point while school officials and police reviewed his case.

Young was pulled over Friday night in Hingham, Lieutenant Michael Peraino said, after a local officer noticed motorists flashing their lights in an unsuccessful effort to get the car Young was driving to dim its high beams.

Officer Steven Dearth reported that the car was weaving erratically and that he found several open containers of alcohol inside after he stopped it. Young failed a roadside sobriety test, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, and was fingerprinted before being released on bail, police said.

"What got him caught was the fingerprints" that Hingham police forwarded to the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department, Peraino said. "Monday, they notified us that the person whose prints those were had given us a false name."

When Young appeared at Hingham District Court on Tuesday for arraignment on the drunken driving charge, he was confronted by a police officer and a detective who asked him his name and challenged him when he claimed he was Robert Young, Peraino said.

He then acknowledged that he was Richard Young and showed the officers pay stubs from the Boston School Department showing that name, Hingham police said.

Jonathan Palumbo, spokesman for the School Department, said the department did not learn of the situation until Wednesday afternoon, after a report on Young was published in the Patriot Ledger newspaper in Quincy.

Palumbo said that Wednesday evening, officials were compiling information to be presented to schools Superintendent Michael G. Contompasis, who will decide whether to suspend Young from his job. Regardless of that decision, Palumbo said, "it has been communicated" to Young that he should not come to work Thursday.

Peraino, the Hingham police spokesman, said the old charges against Richard Young are from Wareham, alleging motor vehicle larceny, drug possession, and knowingly receiving stolen property, and from Quincy, alleging that he drove a car without the authority of the owner and possession of heroin.

The School Department spokesman said he was unable to determine whether a review of any and all criminal records on Young had been completed, as required by a state law that took effect in 2003. He said it took about a year of negotiations with the Boston Teachers Union to agree on how such records reviews would be handled within the School Department and that since then the department has been working as quickly as possible to check all of its 8,813 employees. The checking is being done alphabetically, Palumbo said.

Barry LaCroix, executive director of the state Criminal History Systems Board, said that if a person is arrested but not arraigned, no record of the arrest would turn up in a criminal records search. It was not clear Wednesday whether Young’s alleged failure to show up to face charges in Wareham and Quincy occurred before he was arraigned.

Radin can be reached at radin@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:53 PM | Comments (0)

Man wanted in slaying turns himself in

By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff

A South Boston man wanted as an accessory after the fact to murder turned himself in to authorities Tuesday after learning police had issued a warrant for his arrest, the Suffolk District Attorney's office said today.

Gregory Hagan, 17, is accused of hiding two guns for Tyrone D. Dubose, 23. Dubose is facing murder charges for allegedly killing 29-year-old Willie Reynoso in South Boston last November.

One of the guns Hagan allegedly hid has been tied to Reynoso's murder through ballistics testing, authorities said.

Hagan pleaded not guilty and was held on $1,000 cash bail. Dubose was arraigned Tuesday on first-degree murder charges and is being held without bail.

Posted by srhee at 5:57 PM | Comments (0)

DeNucci sworn in for sixth term as state auditor

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A. Joseph DeNucci took the oath today for his sixth term as state auditor, pledging to ensure that government is "accountable" to the people, the same vow he made when first taking office in 1987.

"Twenty years ago, I promised that I would be more than just a critic," DeNucci said in a speech after the ceremony in the Great Hall, according a release from his staff. "I wanted my audits to improve the way state government operates. And that still holds true today."

Governor Deval Patrick administered the oath for the 67-year-old Democrat from Newton. A former professional boxer, DeNucci served in the House for a decade before running a successful campaign for state auditor in 1986. He ran unopposed last year in the primary and easily beat Working Families party candidate Rand Wilson in the general election.

DeNucci promised today to work with the Patrick administration and the Legislature to improve the state's finances by identifying ways to save money and "continuing my work to identify and eliminate fraud, waste and abuse – the cruelest taxes of them all."

Posted by aryan at 4:51 PM | Comments (0)

Galvin takes 'private' oath, skips ceremony to begin fourth term as Sec. of State

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

On a day of pomp, symbolism, and speeches, when four of the state's highest officials raised their right hands before flashing cameras and took the oath of office, there was one politician who shunned the limelight.

William F. Galvin was sworn in some time today for his fourth term as the Secretary of State, but there was no public oath. Galvin didn't have a reception in Nurse's Hall or give a speech outlining his agenda for the next four years.

"It's private ceremony and that will be it," said Galvin's spokesman, Brian McNiff, who declined to disclose the location where Governor Deval Patrick administered the oath.

Martha Coakley returned to her hometown of North Adams to be sworn in as the new attorney general. Incumbent A. Joseph DeNucci took the oath for his sixth term as state auditor in a noontime ceremony in the Great Hall with House Speaker Sal DiMasi as the Master of Ceremonies. Timothy P. Cahill began his second term as state treasurer at 1.30 p.m. in the House Chamber, with DiMasi again acting as emcee.

Not Galvin. The Democrat and former long-time state representative from Brighton was first elected Secretary of State in 1994. He was the only statewide incumbent who had challenger in the September primary, John C. Bonifaz, a lawyer and liberal voting activist who he easily defeated. In the general election, Galvin again enjoyed a large victory, handily beating Green-Rainbow Party candidate Jill Stein

In the Secretary of State's office, the start of Galvin’s term was hardly recognized. It was, McNiff said, "just another day."

Posted by aryan at 3:53 PM | Comments (0)

15-year-old fatally shot in Fall River

By Globe Staff

Fall River police today are investigating the fatal shooting last night of a 15-year-old boy outside an apartment complex on Amity Street.

The teenager, whom police identify as Shakeem T. Davis of Fall River, was taken to Saint Anne’s Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. He was later rushed to Hasbro Children Hospital in Providence, R.I., where he was pronounced dead.

Police received a 911 call at 10:19 p.m. about the shooting, according to a press release. Investigators learned that Davis had gotten in a fight with two men before the shooting, one of whom brandished a gun.

Officers took one of those men into custody and identified him as Jason S. Bates, 27, of Fall River. Police are still looking for the other suspect.

Davis knew Bates and the other man prior to the shooting, police said. It was not clear what motivated the fight or the gunfire, said police, who did not provide any additional information.

Posted by aryan at 2:39 PM | Comments (0)

Cahill begins second term as treasurer

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Democrat Timothy P. Cahill began his second term as state treasurer this afternoon as he highlighted the return of $3.7 billion in local aid to cities and towns from Lottery revenues as one of his major accomplishments during his first four years in office.

Cahill, whom was sworn in by Governor Deval Patrick in the House Chamber, enumerated what he said was the tangible impact of that money, which included Taunton rehiring eight firefighters who had been laid off and Northhampton adding another police officer and beefing up its overtime patrols.

The state is in a much different place than it was four years ago, he said, when there was a projected $3 billion deficit and the pension fund had lost $8 billion in assets.

"It was described by some as the 'Perfect Storm,'" said Cahill, according to a copy of his prepared remarks provided by his staff. "I am proud to say that at the Treasury – with the help, support and leadership of the Legislature – the storm has passed."

As Cahill begins his second term, however, he faces a slumping state lottery, which is run by the treasurer's office. Lottery revenues, which are down by 2 percent in the current fiscal year from last year, provide more than $900 million to cities and towns.

This afternoon Cahill focused on his successes and his own past, invoking memories of his seventh grade math teacher, Rita Fabrizio, and a lesson she taught on fractions.

"For the first time I began to understand the importance and meaning of numbers," said Cahill, the state's chief financial officer. "But numbers, like words, can be meaningless without a purpose and a place."

Politicians must match rhetoric with those numbers to make government work, he said.

Posted by aryan at 2:04 PM | Comments (0)

Prepared remarks of Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill

Thank you, Governor Patrick, Speaker DiMasi, President Travaglini, Father Quinn, Bishop Langham, fellow elected officials, family, friends and invited guests.

35 years ago this spring, my seventh grade classmates and I at Sterling Junior High School in Quincy were given an assignment by our crazy math teacher.

We were to write a research paper on any subject having to do with numbers, and then we were to give an oral presentation on our report –--- to the entire seventh grade.

Can you imagine the look on all our faces when we realized we had to stand before an auditorium full of 13-year-olds and talk about –-- math?

I don’t remember what I talked about, but I'll never forget the presentation made by Rita Fabrizio on fractions.

We were all mesmerized!

Somehow she made those horrible numbers with horizontal lines in the middle jump off the page and come to life.

For the first time I began to understand the importance and meaning of numbers.

But numbers, like words, can be meaningless without a purpose and a place.

I recall a speech our newly elected governor gave just before the primary.

He was relaying to the audience the latest criticism being tossed at him – which was that just because he quote, gave a good speech, words alone did not qualify him to lead.

In his defense, he went on to quote Thomas Jefferson – "We hold these truths to be self-evident," John F. Kennedy – "Ask not what your country can do for you," and Martin Luther King Jr., - "I have a dream" to illustrate (if I may paraphrase, Governor) how words, if spoken with conviction and intended for a greater purpose, can have a profound impact on how we govern.

Now before you even think it, I am not comparing my words to those spoken by Jefferson, Kennedy or King; nor will I express myself today as eloquently or as passionately as Governor Patrick did two weeks ago.

My hope is that I can do what Rita Fabrizio did 35 years ago: to give meaning to the numbers and make them come alive.

The first group of numbers has to do with appreciation and thanks. They are 1.6 million, 200, 648 and five.

I first want to thank the 1.6 million people who voted for me and who have put their faith and trust in my ability to help move this state forward as their Treasurer.

Next I want to thank the 200 members of the Legislature, especially House Speaker DiMasi and Senate President Travaglini.

They have supported virtually everything we have tried to achieve and have worked cooperatively with us toward moving Massachusetts in the right direction over the past four years.

I also want to thank the 648 employees that work for me at the Treasury.

They selflessly and tirelessly serve the public and do their best to make me look good.

People like Leanne Martin in the Executive Office, who teaches thousands of elementary school students at hundreds of schools that "Saving Makes 'Cents'."

Or Tim Guilfoy at the Retirement Board, who, in addition to helping counsel people planning to retire, selflessly donated his kidney to his best friend without publicity or praise.

People like Allison Ananis, who makes sure that everyone at Abandoned Property has a role to play in serving the thousands of constituents that call, and Asha Ramesh in I.T., who succeeded at the impossible – making me look technologically competent during a power point presentation before a group of business executives.

Lastly, I want to thank the five most important women in my life – Tina, Makena, Nicole, Devin and Kendra.

Not only are they all beautiful, but they are also intelligent, funny and the most supportive family a man could ever hope for.

Four years ago, the most meaningful numbers were three billion, eight billion, 9000, 890 million, 428 and 140,000.

We here in state government were facing a projected $3 billion deficit and our pension fund had lost $8 billion dollars in assets.

We discovered 9,000 unanswered e-mails at the Abandoned Property Division and were projecting the first-ever decline in Lottery revenue at below $890 million.

The Governor had placed a moratorium on school building construction, leaving 428 school construction projects on a waiting list at the Department of Education.

We were also struggling with the loss of approximately 140,000 jobs, and for the first time ever it appeared that more people were leaving Massachusetts than were coming in.

It was described by some as the "Perfect Storm."

I am proud to say that at the Treasury – with the help, support and leadership of the Legislature – the storm has passed.

The numbers that matter most now are 3.7 billion, 350, 4.1 billion, 1.4 billion, 77, 20 billion, 55 and 160 million.

Since 2003, we have collected and distributed $3.7 billion in Lottery receipts, with the vast majority of that money flowing to cities and towns.

Using the advertising money this Legislature has consistently approved, we have been able to bring in more revenue each and every year since 2003.

But the numbers only tell half the story.

In Taunton, Lottery local aid allowed Mayor Nunes to rehire eight firefighters who were laid off.

It was used by Brockton to bolster the city’s stabilization fund, and Northampton was able to restore the job of a police officer and put more police on the streets by using Lottery local aid to pay for overtime.

The numbers 350, 4.1 billion and 1.4 billion refer to the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

When this body passed legislation reforming the way we build and pay for schools in this state, we were left with a list of 428 school projects that needed to be paid for and completed.

In a little over two years and under the tremendous leadership of Katherine Craven, 350 of those schools are complete and $4.1 billion has been reimbursed to cities and towns.

And paying off our debt early has resulted in $1.4 billion in interest cost savings.

The town of Dennis-Yarmouth was recently reimbursed more than $21 million to pay for the state share of its newly renovated high school.

Without the new legislation the Cape town would not have received its first reimbursement check for 11 more years and the school would not have been paid off until the year 2038.

We have also been able to fulfill the commitment made to the city of Worcester – to build a new Worcester North High School – something that would have been impossible under the old system.

The numbers 20 billion, 77, 55, and 160 million refer to our state pension fund.

Under the terrific leadership of Michael Travaglini, the fund has grown by over $20 billion in just four years.

That's growth of 77 percent – compared to a 55 percent increase in the S & P 500, which is less diversified and carries more risk.

And while the growth has been both spectacular and important, we have not neglected to invest here in Massachusetts.

Our Economically Targeted Investment Program has made $160 million worth of commitments to investment firms who are dedicated to putting the capital to work here in the Commonwealth.

For instance, Access Capital of Cambridge loaned a portion of the $75 million we invested with them to the Holyoke Community Health Center, leading to the creation of 300 new jobs in a city that is in dire need of good jobs and good news.

You want more numbers? I’ve got them!

984 million, 173 million, 400,000, eight thousand six hundred and seventeen, and six million nine hundred thousand.

The first two numbers represent the amount of money our Abandoned Property Division has collected and dispersed over four years: $984 million located - and $173 million returned to their rightful owners.

People like Marion Abate of Wilmington.

When Marion's brother called us, he said that Marion was living in a nursing home and the $400,000 we discovered for her in forgotten bank accounts under her late husband’s name would be used to continue providing her with the best possible care.

Marion was the second youngest of 15 children and one of four who served in the Armed Forces during World War II.

She served at the Pentagon, and because of her background as a commercial artist, she was assigned the task of designing and developing geographical maps used for the invasion of Normandy.

Imagine how many more U.S. soldiers made it home safely because of Marion's drawings.

I hope you are beginning to see why these numbers matter.

The numbers 8,617 and 6.9 million represent the number of checks issued and the total amount of money presented to our own Massachusetts servicemen and women as part of the Welcome Home Bonus legislation passed by this Legislature and administered by my office.

I recently received a letter that reads in part:

"I served in Iraq from 2005 to 2006 ... and when I left in October, I had more than a month before I started my new job and another two weeks until I get my first paycheck ... the bonus will allow me to pay my bills, do a little Christmas shopping and make my annual contribution to Globe Santa ... this bonus reminds us that we are cared about and remembered, and it is truly appreciated… please pass along my thanks."

Sincerely, Captain Christy E. Orses – United States Army

When Proctor and Gamble bought out Gillette in early 2004, we realized that we could no longer sit on the sidelines and watch jobs leave our state.

We had to start working on some numbers.

So we organized a task force and asked prominent individuals in the fields of business, education, health care and government to join us and see how the Treasurer's Office might help stem the flow of jobs leaving our state.

Thus far we have been able to leverage our place in the market, producing approximately $1.25 billion in committed capital for job growth and affordable housing initiatives.

This money includes $590 million of leveraged capital from the State Treasury.

The results thus far include a $40 million commitment from Bank of America to institute its Block by Block program here in Massachusetts.

This initiative will rehabilitate the Washington Mills Lofts building in Lawrence into affordable and market rate loft apartments.

Our Job Growth Initiative has already created 2,588 new jobs with the potential for an additional 8,100 new jobs over the next four years.

40 of these jobs will be created at a Devens-based technology firm called Xinetics, with the help of a $2.5 million loan from Sovereign Bank.

"When we started our business in 1993 with two employees," said company president Mark Ealy, Wwe could never have envisioned our growth… to more than 100 with the help of this loan."

These are just a fraction of our numbers.

I haven't talked about debt, the Mass Water Pollution Abatement Trust, the ABCC, Retirement Board or our Financial Literacy initiatives.

But you get the picture.

Rhetoric matched with math equals a government that works.

And when the promises that a politician makes do not equal the numbers embedded in his words, then we must be prepared to say no.

Over the past four year I have been forced to say no to mayors, superintendents, city councils, legislators, retirees and cabinet secretaries when the numbers did not meet expectations.

Over the next four years we must all be prepared to do the same.

The public expects nothing less of us.

T. H. Huxley once wrote: "Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned… and however early a man’s training begins, it is probably the last lesson he learns thoroughly."

It is a lesson I first learned 35 years ago in that math class when I first listened to Rita's presentation on fractions.

It is a lesson we must all take with us over the next four years if we are to continue moving this state forward.

Thank you.

Posted by aryan at 1:09 PM | Comments (0)

Coakley takes oath as Attorney General in North Adams

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Martha Coakley became the state's 44th Attorney General in North Adams this morning in a ceremony that paid homage to her roots in Western Massachusetts and made allusions to the challenges she will face in office.

The career prosecutor recited the oath administered by Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Francis X. Spina, a fellow Western Massachusetts native, and then took stock of the town where she grew up, highlighting landmarks in her life, such as her father's insurance business on Main Street. Coakley made no mention in her prepared remarks, however, that she was the first woman to take the oath as the state's top law enforcement official. Instead, she talked about fairness, a spirit of innovation and change, and hard work.

"As your Attorney General, I give you today not fantastic or unrealistic promises," Coakley said, according to a copy of her speech provided by her staff. "Rather, I give you the pledge of my commitment to the office and to all the people of Massachusetts that I will use my energy, talent and experience to make the sacred trust of the office as effective and responsive as it should be."

Coakley, 53, who served two terms as Middlesex District Attorney, trounced Republican Lawrence W. Frisoli in the general election, capturing 73 percent of the vote to his 27 percent. She faced no opposition in the Democratic primary.

While her road to the attorney general's office may have been smooth, the job promises its challenges. Coakley inherits an expansive investigation into the fatal ceiling collapse in the Big Dig last July, a probe into which her predecessor, Thomas F. Reilly, promised criminal charges.

Last month, Coakley distanced herself from Reilly's promise, saying it would be extraordinarily difficult to bring criminal charges in a complex case that involves multiple corporations and government agencies with roles in the design, building, and oversight of the huge project.

"We're talking about corporate responsibility here, which usually results in fines," Coakley told the Globe. "You don't send corporations off to jail. ... I'm just trying to explain that when you talk about corporate criminal liability, you're usually talking dollars; you're not talking handcuffs."

In North Adams this morning, there was no mention of the Big Dig. Instead, Coakley focused on how far she has come from her little hometown in the Berkshires.

"I am grateful for your attendance here today," she told the crowd, "and am truly humbled that I, Martha Coakley, local girl, have the great honor to serve you as of today as your Attorney General."

Posted by aryan at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)

Prepared remarks of Attorney General Martha Coakley

I am delighted and proud to have the honor of making my first official remarks as your Attorney General here at Mass MoCA--this wonderful testament to creativity and revitalization, and in my hometown, North Adams.

I am standing -- literally -- only a short distance from where my dad, Ed Coakley, ran a successful insurance business--on both sides of Main St., then in the old mill behind St. Francis’ Church. He came here with my mother, Phyllis, in 1954 from Springfield--I was born in Lee in l953--to join Geddes and Crippen, which became Crippen and Coakley, a firm with a few name changes--and with Henry Peirpan, Joe Dolan, and Bob Collins, that still thrives today.

The schools I attended--St. Joseph's and later Drury--and the house on Highland Avenue, where my dad and my mother raised five children, are within easy walking distance from this podium. My college, Williams, is just a short hike down the road. I learned here how to debate--the foundation of my legal employment--and how to ski--the foundation of much of my off-duty enjoyment. And so, it is no exaggeration to say, "You can take the girl out of the Berkshires, but you can’t take the Berkshires out of the girl.

In the 19th century, the engineering marvel called the Hoosac Tunnel was built and was hailed as "the Gateway to the West." Likewise, North Adams and Berkshire County were my personal gateways to the place I stand today-- Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Just a few years ago, we all passed through another Gateway--that of the 21st century. And we have already been witness to some of its darker moments: the attacks of September 11; a threatened, and in some places, compromised environment; an uncertain local and global economy; and a volatile energy situation.

But I did not seek the office to which I have just been sworn to dwell on what hasn't gone right. I sought, and will now, with your help, execute the duties of Attorney General to make a positive difference; to bring positive changes to the lives and future of all who call the Commonwealth home ...

As your Attorney General, I give you today not fantastic or unrealistic promises. Rather, I give you the pledge of my commitment to the office and to all the people of Massachusetts that I will use my energy, talent and experience to make the sacred trust of the office as effective and responsive as it should be.

For public safety and homeland security, in healthcare and the protection of the environment, in defending the rights of consumers and the needs of our most vulnerable citizens, in moving Massachusetts forward to a sustained and healthy economy. Our law office will serve as the people’s Gateway: where rights are protected, where justice is enforced, where a level playing field is valued, and where fairness extends to all--regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

The buildings in which we stand today once housed mighty machines at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Later, they manufactured products that helped us conquer space and compete militarily. Today, they house innovative artists’ creations and designs. The activities within these walls have changed over the years, but the spirit--the desire--of the people who live here--to change, to adapt, and to keep moving forward -- has remained constant.

Today, let us take that spirit to build, to adapt, to change, while respecting the tradition and history that defines us, and see that we have new opportunities--as well as existing challenges--and that private citizens and our elected government can be successful in realizing those opportunities and tackling those challenges together.

I am grateful for your attendance here today, and am truly humbled that I, Martha Coakley, local girl, have the great honor to serve you as of today as your Attorney General.

Posted by aryan at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

Temperatures hit zero, sparking heater fires and other problems

By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent, and George Rizer and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The mercury hit zero degrees Fahrenheit early this morning in Ashburnham in northern Worcester County, making the town the coldest place in Massachusetts during this season's first arctic blast of winter weather.

Temperatures across the rest of the state bottomed out in the single digits between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., according to Alan Dunham, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. The windchill, however, made the air feel as cold as negative 14 degrees.

"It's winter," Dunham said. "I'm sorry to say, but it caught up with us."

The cold, while a smidge below average, is nowhere near a record, Dunham said. Normal January temperatures should return Thursday and continue into the weekend with highs in the 30s.

Even if it isn't a record, the temperatures still caused plenty of problems.

In Dorchester, firefighters responded to a one-alarm blaze on Bradlee Street early this morning. The fire remains under investigation, but officials said the flames may have been sparked by a space heater in a shed. The fire spread from the shed to the 2 1/2 story home which contained several apartments.

In New Hampshire, utility crews were still working to connect about 10,000 customers who were without power as of 11:15 a.m. The state's largest electric, Public Service Company of New Hampshire, said that number is down from the peak of about 38,000 customers who lost power after Monday's ice storm.

"With thick ice continuing to coat power lines, repairs are taking longer than normal," according to a statement from the Public Service Company. "Ice-coated limbs and branches must be lifted off lines by manually banging the ice off the trees."

Some customers in the Derry, Milford and the Nashua region may not have power for another 24 hours, the utility warned. Customers in the Keene and Monadnock region, however, should be back in service by midnight tonight.

Since Monday, crews have repaired 716 individual problems in the utility's system. The company's Customer Services Center has answered more than 125,000 calls since the storm.

Posted by aryan at 9:41 AM | Comments (0)

Two young men die in rotary crash in Lynn

By Globe Staff

Two young men who were not wearing their seat belts died late Tuesday night after the car they were traveling in sped into the Nahant Rotary in Lynn, hit a curb, and rolled over, police said. Both young men were ejected from the car and died at the scene after the 11 p.m. crash.

"The accident is still under investigation," said Trooper Kara England, a state police spokeswoman. "But it does appear that excessive speed was a factor."

State Police identified the two men as Shawn Bates, 27, and William L. Parish, 26, both of Lynn.

Bates was driving a 2002 Honda Odyssey north on Route 1A in Lynn when the car flipped in the rotary, killing him and Parish, his only passenger.

Posted by aryan at 8:57 AM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2007

Taxpayers may not receive higher exemption

By Andrea Estes, GLOBE STAFF

For the first time in four years, Massachusetts taxpayers will not receive a higher personal tax exemption in 2008 under current projections, a sign of a slowing economy that could force difficult decisions on Beacon Hill this spring.

Department of Revenue officials announced at a legislative hearing Tuesday that a freeze in the personal income tax exemption was likely. At the hearing, several economists predicted minimal growth in state tax collections next year, because of stagnant corporate profits and capital gains.

An increase in the exemption, which is triggered the year after a rise in tax revenue of at least 2.5 percent after inflation, would have saved individuals $15 and couples $29 and cost the state about $60 million, according to an agency spokeswoman. Taxpayers have seen an increase for the last three years. Couples can now deduct $7,700 and individuals can deduct $3,850.

"We’re assuming it’s not likely the exemption will kick in," said Revenue Department spokeswoman Jennifer Parent.

Also lagging are lottery revenues, which officials confirmed are down 2 percent in the current fiscal year from last year. The lottery provides more than $900 million to cities and towns.

The economists appeared before a joint hearing of the Senate and House Committees on Ways and Means to help lawmakers arrive at a consensus on revenue estimates to be used in the next round of budget negotiations.

They offered varying revenue predictions for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1, ranging from a low of 1.8 percent from Department of Revenue tax analysts to 6.4 percent from the Beacon Hill institute, a conservative think tank.

The most pessimistic analysts said the state is looking at a deficit of up to $1.5 billion -- a gap that will make it difficult for the new governor to keep costly campaign promises, such as hiring 1,000 new police officers and expanding full-day kindergarten.

"I think it would be an achievement if this administration and this Legislature are able to achieve a balanced budget without gimmicks, without drawing on reserves and maintaining the present level of services," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which is predicting revenue growth next year of only 3 percent, compared to an estimated 4.2 percent this fiscal year and an actual 8.2 percent increase the previous year. Costs are expected to rise much more, he said.

But Governor Deval Patrick, Widmer said, will be hard-pressed to spend money on new programs or restore local aid to provide property tax relief for homeowners, a frequent campaign pledge. "The very best they can do would be to put a down payment on some initiatives -- take initial steps and phase them in over several years," he said.

After the hearing, Patrick’s top budget aide, Administration and Finance Secretary Leslie Kirwan, said the governor’s campaign pledge to cut $735 million annually from the budget in waste and inefficiencies would not be realized immediately.

"As the governor pointed out," she said, "he’s looking at that over a longer period of time. We’re just beginning that work with the agencies."

Patrick recently said he does not intend to complete new initiatives all in his first year. He said he will phase in the projects. But Tuesday was the first time his administration has said it would not quickly cut $735 million from the budget.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)

Family laments loss of young life

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Seconds after stepping off a train at the Jackson Square MBTA Station, Luis Gerena called his stepmother from his new cellphone and told her he was just five minutes from home.

When the boy did not show up 20 minutes later, his father, who has the same name, tried calling him, using the walkie-talkie feature on the phone. The call went through, but there was no answer. He tried again seconds later, but the phone had been turned off. A short while later, he was driving through the neighborhood and noticed flashing lights and yellow police tape at the T station. His heart sank.

"When I saw the tape, I got a feeling they killed my son," the elder Gerena said Tuesday. He hurried home, grabbed a picture of his son, and headed to a nearby police precinct, where his feeling was confirmed.

"There was no reason, no reason to kill him," the father said. "Why would anyone shoot a 13-year-old boy?"

Moments after the sixth-grader made that call to his stepmother, he was shot in the chest several times on Horan Way inside the Bromley-Heath housing development in Jamaica Plain, next to the T station. Police say he then ran back toward the station and fell to the ground, blood flowing from his chest.

Luis Gerena, who was seven months shy of his 14th birthday, is the youngest victim of homicide on Boston streets in at least two years. His death follows the separate homicides of two other boys, both 14, in the past three weeks. No arrests have been made in any of the cases. Police have not determined whether he was targeted or a victim of a random attack or robbery, but his father said his son’s Nextel Boost Mobile phone, which he bought for him for $300, was missing when police found his body.

Tuesday, the teen’s relatives and friends gathered in the living room of the small, second-story apartment in Mission Hill where he lived with his grandmother. They described him as a quiet boy who would sit in front of the computer in the living room after returning from school and spend hours chatting on-line with friends. "He didn’t hang out in the streets, he wasn’t into that," his father said.

He was into Hip-Hop fashion, and often sported baseball caps, oversized hooded sweaters, earrings and the latest athletic shoes, his relatives said. Two columns of Nike shoe boxes were neatly stacked beside his bed, and his closet was full of athletic wear and baggy jeans. Taped on his closet door was a sheet of paper with the word 'Science' written across the top. On the paper, he made notes about the digestive system and other health topics, a primer, apparently for an upcoming school test, that he came face to face with every time he got dressed.

The boy also kept a calendar book. His last entry was on Friday, just as he was preparing to leave class. He wrote in the space for that date "Have a safe weekend."

Hours after school got out, after visiting a girlfriend in Charlestown, he was riding the train home. But instead of stopping at the Roxbury Crossing T Station, as he always did after dark, he continued to the Jackson Square stop. "I don’t know what made my son get off at the Jackson Square stop," his father said. "He never got off there after dark because it wasn’t safe." The walk home from the Jackson Square station was about 15 minutes quicker than from the Roxbury stop, but Luis didn’t mind the longer walk, his father said.

Claudio Martinez, the executive director of the Hyde Square Task Force, an anti-violence, anti-drug program, said he often hears from teens about how they avoid the Jackson Square station, sometimes adding as much as an hour to their commute. "After living here and being involved in this issue for 20 years, it continues to be very hard to take. I’ve lost plenty of friends to senseless violence, and the rhetoric about stopping teen violence needs to be matched with resources," he said.

Gerena and Emmanuel Saintil, one of the other victims, were classmates at the Clarence R. Edwards Elementary School. But Gerena had been a student there for only four months, after transferring from the Jackson/Mann Elementary School in Allston, the school he attended since first grade. Tuesday, crisis counselors met with students at Jackson/Mann.

"He was a lovely little boy, he had beautiful olive skin and the longest lashes of any kid I ever saw," said Joanne Collins Russell, the principal of Jackson/Mann, sitting in her office. She said the sixth grader came back to visit her several days before Christmas. "I was quite surprised to see him because when he left in June, he said he was never going to come back. But now he was asking me if he could come back."

Collins Russell recalled a heated argument her former student had with another boy at the school. Gerena had swapped his MP3 with the student for a cell phone, which later stopped working. Gerena wanted his player back, but the student had sold it. Collins Russell called their parents in. The elder Gerena told his son he had made a mistake in trading something so valuable for something he wasn’t sure was working properly and would have to learn from it. ‘‘That was powerful,’’ Collins Russell said.

Tuesday, his father, sitting in the living room, opened a box of athletic shoes and held one of the shoes up in the palm of his hand.

"These are the ones that he wanted," the father said. "He’ll be buried with these."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:54 PM | Comments (0)

Lawmakers look for answers in mishandling of DNA

By Jonathan Saltzman and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Key state lawmakers demanded answers Tuesday about the mishandling of DNA test results at the State Police laboratory as the agency acknowledged that analyses of genetic material from unsolved rape cases sat on an administrator’s desk for months while prosecutors lost their chance to pursue charges.

Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, the likely incoming cochairman of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, said state public safety officials told him that the DNA database administrator knew last February of DNA matches in several cases but waited until September to inform police and prosecutors.

Barrios -- who was briefed Tuesday by Colonel Mark F. Delaney, superintendent of the State Police, and LaDonna Hatton, undersecretary for forensic sciences -- said the delays and false reports reveal a serious deficiency at the lab: The administrator alone appeared to control the reporting of DNA test results to police and prosecutors.

"I’m not passing judgment on this person," Barrios said. "But suppose the [positive] hit was on his brother and he chose not to tell anybody? Nobody would be the wiser."

The investigation will look at who was supposed to be supervising the DNA administrator, Robert E. Pino, said Lieutenant Detective William Powers, a State Police spokesman.

"I don’t think you’d find that this whole investigation would center on just this one guy,’’ Powers said. ‘‘It’s going to be not just why the work didn’t get done, but why it didn’t get noticed."

Barrios said the lapses were particularly alarming since the Legislature increased funding of the lab from $6.2 million in fiscal 2005 to $16.2 million in fiscal 2007. The Cambridge Democrat, who was co-chairman of the public safety committee last year and expects to be reappointed shortly, said he planned to hold hearings this year on the lab’s performance.

"The public has a right to know why their dollars, apparently, have been misspent," he said. "We need to have confidence that this is just one person and not something systemic in the lab that allowed this to happen."

State Police disclosed Friday that an internal investigation showed that the administrator had failed to tell prosecutors of DNA matches in some cases, and in other cases falsely reported that DNA found at crime scenes matched suspects.

In the statement, Delaney said he is bringing in the FBI to conduct an independent audit of DNA testing procedures at the lab in Sudbury, which he headed for about four years before becoming superintendent last year.

State Police did not name the administrator, but his union confirmed Saturday that it was Pino and blamed understaffing and inadequate funding. He was suspended with pay Thursday, Powers said.

Pino declined to comment Tuesday, saying he remains an employee and the allegations are under investigation. Pino, a 1983 graduate of Boston College, has worked at the crime lab for more than 22 years and has been the civilian DNA administrator for the last seven, according to a short biography on the BC website.

Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com; Ellement at ellement@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:47 PM | Comments (0)

Man, hospitalized with severe burns, charged with arson of Dorchester home

By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff

A man who is accused of lighting a fire that engulfed his infant daughter, her baby-sitter, and himself in flames was criminally charged over the weekend, police said this evening.

Dung Van Tran has been hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital with life-threatening burns since last Tuesday after he allegedly set a fire at the Dorchester home where his 1-year-old daughter, Diana Lam Tran, lived with her mother.

Tran, who is accused of abusing his wife in the past, was charged with arson of a dwelling, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of assault with intent to murder.

Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said more charges are possible as the investigation unfolds. Tran will be arraigned in his hospital room after he becomes coherent. Tran and his daughter remain in critical condition.

The baby-sitter, Nguyen Trinh, is in intensive care at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Posted by aryan at 6:13 PM | Comments (0)

Charter operator admits sinking decrepit boat

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

A charter boat service operator who deliberately sank his disabled 62-foot charter boat off the coast of Gloucester to avoid disposal costs was sentenced today by a federal judge to a year of probation for violating environmental laws and ordered to publish an apology in the Gloucester Daily Times and the Standard-Times of New Bedford, which cover two of the region's largest fishing ports.

Thomas W. Lukegord Jr., 47, was also ordered by US Magistrate Judge Judith Dein to pay a $2,000 fine and $1,928 in restitution to the Coast Guard, to cover what it cost the agency to respond to the sinking vessel.

In a plea agreement with US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan's office, Lukegord admitted that after he cancelled insurance on the aging Nicole Renee and failed to sell it, he removed fuel and other hazardous material off the vessel and then sank it in May 2006 to avoid having to pay $10,000 to properly dispose of it.

Lukegord pumped water onto the Nicole Renee from another vessel, causing it to sink in about 100 feet of water off of Wingaersheek Beach and Plum Island in an area where commercial fishing vessels tow their nets, creating a navigational hazard, according to federal prosecutors. Under the whistleblower provision of the federal Refuse Act, a portion of the fine paid by Lukegord will be paid to individuals who reported the sinking of the Nicole Renee, according to Sullivan's office.

Posted by srhee at 6:10 PM | Comments (0)

Chief: No arson in fire at McGolf's driving range

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Firefighters battled a two-alarm fire this morning at McGolf's driving range shop on Bridge Street in Dedham.

By George Rizer and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Investigators this afternoon ruled out arson as the cause of a fire that destroyed the offices of a popular driving range in Dedham, according to the town fire chief.

A team that included investigators from the state fire marshal's office spent the day combing through the charred wreckage of McGolf's driving range, Dedham Fire Chief James Driscoll said late this afternoon. While the crew was unable to pinpoint the exact cause, they ruled out any type of foul play.

"We believe the fire was accidental," Driscoll said. "We don't believe it is of a criminal nature."

A passing motorist called 911 at about 5 a.m. today after noticing smoke and flames at the one-story white building on Bridge Street, which is also known at Route 109. The offices of the driving range, which were unoccupied and closed for the season, did not have a fire alarm and investigators suspect that the flames may have started smoldering at least 45 minutes earlier.

It took crews more than two hours to bring the two-alarm fire under control. Firefighters responded from Needham, Westwood, and Boston to fight the flames.

One Dedham firefighter slightly injured his neck during the fire. Driscoll said. He was taken to a local hospital, treated, and released.

The blaze remains under investigation.

Posted by aryan at 5:37 PM | Comments (0)

Police arrest Uxbridge man accused of murdering mother

(Handout photo from police)

Lee Chiero is accused of killing his 59-year-old mother in their Uxbridge home.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A man accused of killing his mother pleaded not guilty this afternoon in Uxbridge District Court.

Lee Chiero, 35, was ordered held without bond. He was arrested at about 11 a.m. today at Newton-Wellesley Hospital when he sought treatment for an injury on his hand, according to Newton police. He is accused of killing his 59-year-old mother inside their Uxbridge home.

The body of Nancy Chiero was discovered around 2 p.m. Sunday inside their basement apartment by Uxbridge police, who had been dispatched on a "wellness check" by someone who was concerned about Nancy Chiero.

According to a friend interviewed by the Globe, Lee Chiero lived in a basement apartment with his mother, who formerly helped organize events for the late congressman from South Boston, Joseph Moakley.

On Sunday, Worcester County authorities described Lee Chiero as armed and dangerous and said he was last seen driving a 2006 gray Toyota Corolla.

Posted by aryan at 5:29 PM | Comments (0)

State attorney general? It's still Reilly until Wednesday as Coakley waits in Constitutional limbo

(Evan Richman/Globe Staff)

Martha Coakley (right) will be sworn in Wednesday as the state's first female attorney general. She has been in limbo the last two weeks since her successor, Gerard T. Leone Jr. (left), took over as the Middlesex County District Attorney, while her predecessor, Thomas F. Reilly (center), remained attorney general.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The stage from the governor's inauguration was long ago dismantled, and it has been almost two weeks since 200 lawmakers in the House and Senate took their oaths of office.

Government, in fact, has almost completely re-started, with idealistic newcomers moving into their offices and incumbents getting another start with a fresh term. From Beacon Hill to the Berkshires, it's like springtime in Massachusetts government in almost every elective office -- except one.

A quirk in the state Constitution that dates back to 1855 creates a two-week lag between the day the governor and lieutenant governor take their oaths and when the other four statewide officials take office.

This year that quirk has left Thomas F. Reilly serving as attorney general for a full two weeks after Deval Patrick became governor. That means his elected successor, Martha Coakley, has been waiting in limbo until she is sworn in at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

The staff of Coakley's successor, Gerard T. Leone Jr., moved into the Middlesex County district attorney's offices on Jan. 4, the day after he was sworn in. Reilly, however, is still in charge at Ashburton Place and is legally still the attorney general until Coakley raises her right hand in North Adams on Wednesday.

"Until she is sworn in, it's still Tom Reilly's office," said Emily LaGrassa, Coakley's spokeswoman.

Reilly, however, has made room for about a dozen of Coakley's staffers in the attorney general's office. "The outgoing administration has been very helpful," LaGrassa said. "It's been a smooth transition."

The attorney general was originally appointed by the governor so a two week lag was built in. At the time, the other constitutional offices -- secretary of state, auditor, treasurer -- were elected by the Legislature, according to David R. Guarino, director of communications for Reilly.

Then in 1855, the state Constitution was changed so all constitutional officers were elected by the people on the same day as the governor, Guarino said. The change, however, left the swearing date for the attorney general and others as the third Wednesday in January -- two full weeks after the rest of government.

That is why Coakley won't official be the attorney general until 11 a.m. on Wednesday, when Supreme Judicial Court Justice Francis Spina administers her the oath of office at the museum of contemporary art in North Adams. The two-term Middlesex County District Attorney will be the first woman to hold the attorney general post. Coakley choose North Adams for her swearing in to pay homage to her Western Massachusetts roots.

"She really wants to send a strong message that she represents the entire Commonwealth," LaGrassa said.

Reilly, a career prosecutor who also served two terms as Middlesex District Attorney before becoming attorney general in 1999, has not indicated what he plans to do after leaving office.

On Wednesday, the three incumbent constitutional officers will also take their oaths. A. Joseph DeNucci, a former professional boxer, will start another term as state auditor, a post his has held since 1987. DeNucci will be sworn in by Governor Patrick, who will also administer the oath to State Treasurer Timothy Cahill, who begins his second four-year term. William Galvin will be sworn in for his fourth term as Secretary of State.

Posted by aryan at 1:19 PM | Comments (0)

Stranded sea turtles continue rehab at Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay

By April Simpson, Globe Staff

Nine endangered sea turtles are being treated at the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay for a type of hypothermia after being stranded on Cape Cod last fall.

The reptiles left the New England Aquarium this morning to move to the National Marine Life Center, where they will continue rehabilitation at the center's Sea Turtle Clinic.

The turtles, juveniles that are of the species Kemp's ridley, have been in critical care at the New England Aquarium since being stranded on Cape Cod in October and November last year. All nine were suffering from cold-stunning, a form of hypothermia, according to a statement released by the National Marine Life Center.

Fewer than 1,000 adult female Kemp’s ridley turtles exist worldwide, the statement said.

Posted by aryan at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)

Up to 22,000 still without power as wind and cold threaten more outages

(Janet Knott/Globe Staff)

Scott Goulet cut limbs off power lines this morning along Rockingham Road in Derry, N.H., where 8,500 people today were without power.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

As many as 21,000 homes in southern New Hampshire and more in northern Massachusetts remained without electricity this evening as crews battled plummeting temperatures as they worked to restore power after Monday's ice storm.

A total of 145 two-person crews were working to reconnect downed power lines, which included 38 two-person teams that came to New Hampshire from Connecticut Light and Power and the Western Massachusetts Electric Company. Some of the crews planned to work through the night.

"The main challenge at this time is dealing with the sub-zero temperatures overnight and ridding the power lines of ice-draped trees," according to a statement from Public Service Company of New Hampshire, the state's largest electric utility with 475,000 customers. "There was little melting during the day and temperatures are not expected to rise much over the next 48 hours."

The damage in New Hampshire was concentrated in the southern and southwestern parts of the state, where a mix of sleet, snow, and freezing rain was coating roads, trees, and power lines with ice. At its peak today at 4 a.m., 38,000 customers were without power. That number was down to 22,000 at 5 p.m.

The storm hit Derry hardest, leaving 8,500 people still without electricity late this morning. About 7,000 homes were dark in the Keene area, while another 5,800 people near Amherst were still waiting for power.

In Massachusetts, about 4,400 National Grid Customers remained without power this morning in the Merrimack Valley and northern Worcester County, according to spokesman David Graves. Haverhill had the most people out of service with 1,300. National Grid also had about 500 customers near Salem, N.H., without power.

The weather also affected air travel, causing delays for airplanes to be deiced at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, and canceling some flights. Travelers arriving from warmer locations Monday had a rude welcome and had to chisel their way into cars that were coated with up to a half inch of ice.

In New Hampshire, it snowed in the North Country, leaving 8 inches in Dixville Notch, 6 inches in Columbia, 5 inches in Colebrook, and 2 inches in North Conway. Ski areas and northern businesses dependent on snowmobiling received some accumulation before the snow turned into sleet. Bretton Woods reported 3.5 inches, Waterville Valley and Cannon Mountain had 3 inches, and Attitash and Loon Mountain reported 2 inches.

"Mother Nature kind of came through for us," said Chris Ellms at Bretton Woods. "The temperatures are getting colder, we got a little snow yesterday (Sunday), get some more snow today, and skiing's pretty good."

Forecasters expect it to stay cold through Wednesday night before warming on Thursday.

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.

Posted by aryan at 9:59 AM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2007

Hazardous waste found in Essex woods

By Kay Lazar and Scott Allen, Globe Staff

ESSEX -- Investigators have unearthed more than 100 drums of hazardous waste buried in a wooded area behind a former industrial plant here in what state officials say was probably an illegal dump from the mid-1980s or earlier.

A spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection said the damaged and broken drums apparently did not contaminate drinking water, but the solvents, resins and other chemicals inside may have leaked into Alewife Brook, just 15 feet away. As a precaution, DEP cleanup crews will test the brook's water and place air monitors around the site to make sure chemicals aren't escaping as they remove the drums.

"You don't really see these types of drum fields being discovered any more. We thought we had gotten most of them," said Ed Coletta, the DEP spokesman. "This one caught us by surprise."

Illicit waste dumps were once a common discovery as Massachusetts confronted the dangerous legacy of its industrial past, but property owners have cleaned up more than 22,000 waste sites in the last 15 years.

Neighbors of the site at 7 Essex Park Road said there had long been rumors of drums buried in the woods, but no one investigated until last summer when someone tipped off an environmental consultant working near the industrial plant. Finally, just after Christmas, work crews hired by the property owner, Perkins Realty Trust of Rochester, N.H., began excavating the barrels.

Posted by srhee at 8:52 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick says he has open mind on slot machines

By Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick left the door open Friday to expanding Massachusetts gambling, saying that he must soon make a decision on the hot-button issue that could generate new funding for the state.

Patrick opposed legalizing slot machines during the primary campaign, but soon after his election, he said he would keep an open mind. When asked on a WBUR-FM call-in program whether he would support legalizing slot machines, he said he has struggled with the subject, and he wants to spend more time with gambling proponents to hear their point of view.

"I want to hear the arguments on both sides and I do appreciate that there's a revenue source there that in the view of many, we are leaving on the table when we can scarcely afford to do so," Patrick said. "So I have to take this seriously and I know I have to come to rest on it soon because we've got a budget we are dealing with -- and that is frankly one of the options that I or any other governor would have to consider."

Posted by srhee at 8:50 PM | Comments (0)

Corporations pony up for Patrick inaugural

By Andrea Estes and Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick raised $1.9 million in private donations to cover the cost of his inauguration -- the most expensive in the state's history -- mostly from corporations, law firms, developers, and others who do business in the state.

The inaugural committee said Friday it has so far paid $1.07 million in bills covering key inaugural events -- including the gala at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, the outdoor swearing-in, and the regional inaugural celebrations. Organizers are expecting to receive additional bills, but say they will end up with a surplus of at least $300,000 -- if not substantially more.

"We just don't know what the bills will be," said John Walsh, who ran Patrick's transition team after his election. "It's possible and I hope the number will be higher," he said. A committee will be set up to distribute the surplus to charity.

Any surplus will go to organizations that "foster local civic engagement, advance personal development -- especially by empowering youth -- and emphasize individual responsibility to the committee..." according to a statement. Special consideration will be given to charities with small budgets -- under $3 million.

Among the top donors were auto insurance companies Arbella Insurance Group, Commerce Group, Liberty Mutual Group and Hanover Insurance Group, which each donated $50,000. The only others who gave $50,000 were The Beal Companies, Comcast, Simon Brand Ventures and State Street Corporation.

Posted by srhee at 8:46 PM | Comments (0)

NTSB to wait weeks before issuing preliminary report in fatal Woburn train crash

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

Investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board will review data and records from the dispatch center over the next several weeks before issuing a preliminary report about the fatal commuter rail accident that killed two rail workers this week in Woburn.

Ted Turpin, the lead NTSB investigator in the case, flew back to California today to review the data and plans to return for more interviews.

Two rail workers with the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad were killed and four others injured Tuesday when a Boston-bound commuter rail slammed into them at 60 mph. Turpin has said the investigation is focusing on human error.

The dispatcher in charge of securing the work zone has been placed on administrative leave and is refusing to be interviewed by investigators. The probe is also examining if the work crew failed to place a metal shunt on the tracks that would have alerted the passing train crew that the tracks ahead were occupied.

Posted by aryan at 6:09 PM | Comments (0)

State Police investigating DNA mishaps in unsolved sexual assault cases

By John R. Ellement and Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

An employee at the troubled State Police crime laboratory has been suspended for failing to communicate DNA matches in a number of old unsolved rape cases to Massachusetts prosecutors, who now cannot bring charges against the suspects because the statute of limitations expired, the head of the State Police said today.

The unidentified employee also erroneously told police and prosecutors in an unspecified number of cases that tests had matched DNA recovered at crime scenes to suspects when in fact he was wrong, said State Police Superintendent Colonel Mark F. Delaney.

As a result of an internal investigation launched by Delaney, the employee was placed on administrative leave, and the State Police have brought in the FBI to conduct an independent audit of DNA testing at the crime lab, which has long been criticized for moving too slowly to analyze genetic material.

"As a result, in many of the cases, a suspect was identified prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations, but neither the police investigators nor the District Attorney's Office of jurisdiction were notified in a timely manner," state police said in a statement issued late this afternoon.

It was not immediately clear how many cases are affected or if the mistakes allowed violent sexual offenders to go free.

The bulk of the affected cases are believed to be at least 15 years old, the statute of limitations for most serious sex crimes.

Lieutenant Detective William Powers, a State Police Spokesman, said the problem is administrative and does not call into question the quality of forensic science in the lab. He added that the department does not believe current investigations will be adversely affected by the DNA problems.

The audit of laboratory will assure that current investigations are being properly handled and the information about crucial forensic evidence is being provided to prosecutors in a timely fashion, police said. The DNA laboratory is one of the forensic services performed state police for prosecutors across the state.

Prosecutors have complained in recent years that the lab is under funded and understaffed and that investigations are stymied, or significantly slowed down, by the inability of the department to quickly process the forensic evidence.

State Police launched an investigation into the problems at the lab in mid-November. District attorney's offices with cases that may be affected were notified of the problems.

Posted by aryan at 5:04 PM | Comments (0)

Former correction officer pleads guilty to making racial threats against Sheriff Cousins

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

A former correction officer pleaded guilty today to criminal harassment and other charges for invoking the name of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassin in a threatening message directed at Essex County Sheriff Frank G. Cousins, Jr., the first African-American to head a county correctional system in the state.

Scott "Tiny" Thompson, 41, was spared prison time for pleading guilty in Lynn District Court to harassment and two counts of threats to commit a crime. Thompson, who worked at the Essex County House of Correction at Middleton, received a two-year suspended sentence and three years probation.

The former correction officer, who stands 6-feet-4 and has a tattoo on his left forearm of the Confederate flag, admitted posting threatening messages on the Essex County Corrections Officers Association website under the screen name "The Shadow Knows" between July 2004 and September 2005. As a solution to labor problems with the sheriff, Thompson wrote on the website: "There was someone who can help, but James Earl Ray is dead!"

Cousins told investigators at the time that he felt threatened by the reference to King's killer.

Thompson was a lieutenant when he resigned in 1999, long before he wrote the messages. He was also ordered today by Judge Dominic J. Paratore to perform 300 hours of community service and told him to say away from Cousins, his family, and the Middleton jail.

Posted by aryan at 3:46 PM | Comments (0)

Bulger eulogy at Kelly funeral: 'Jim, you were heroic'

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

The casket of long-time City Councilman James M Kelly was brought up the steps of Saint Brigid Church in South Boston today for his funeral.

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

South Boston said goodbye to a neighborhood icon today, as hundreds packed St. Brigid Church for an emotional funeral Mass and a eulogy that celebrated the life and battles of James M. Kelly and the neighborhood he represented for more than two decades.

Mourners came in police cars, shuttle buses from City Hall, in wheel chairs and on foot. As the former Boston City Councilor's casket entered the church, family, close friends and dignitaries wearing green ribbons on their lapels lined the walk. Bagpipes and drums played, and a police color guard saluted.

Mixed with the powerful figures Kelly knew in his political life -- including Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, former Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly -- were many of the working-class people that Kelly saw as his protectorate: Security guards, sheet metal workers, and a secretary at City Hall.

"He saw as his responsibility, as part of his obligation, to make things better for those in need," William M. Bulger, the former state Senate president who also represented South Boston, said in a eulogy.

Bulger also dwelled on the neighborhood where Kelly grew up, the values that shaped the man and the ones he adopted as he became a lifelong defender of the Irish enclave's old ways. He cited the school busing riots of the 1970s, when Kelly fought alongside others in the neighborhood against what many viewed as a battle against unjust policies being imposed by outsiders.

Those days, when Kelly vehemently opposed integration, had branded Kelly to many outside South Boston as racist. But Bulger said yesterday that he had, in the end, been vindicated.

"Jim, you saw the busing victory ... as unjust, as unnecessary and doomed as counterproductive. Thank you for that," Bulger said. "Jim, you were heroic, you were steadfast and you were right."

The church erupted in thunderous applause.

After the funeral, people gathered outside, talking and embracing one another tearfully. The procession departed, with cars festooned in flowers, passing the L Street Bath House where flags flew at half staff.

Posted by aryan at 2:40 PM | Comments (0)

January 11, 2007

City officials order nightclubs to suspend admitting minors

By David Abel, GLOBE STAFF

The city of Boston has ordered nine local nightclubs that sponsor 19-plus nights to suspend admitting minors until police and club owners agree on a plan to stem a recent rash of violence at the establishments.

Last week, Patricia A. Malone, director of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing, sent a letter to the clubs, explaining that the events are taxing police. "In recent months, there has been an alarming increase in problems of [violence] associated with these events," she wrote.

The order temporarily ends the 19-plus nights -- which allow entrance to patrons 19 and over -- at The Roxy, New York Jukebox, Aria, Rumor, Nick’s/Venu, Avalon Axis, Embassy Modern, Jake Ivory’s/Bill’s Bar, and Who’s on First, according to Malone’s letter. All of the clubs are either in the Theater District or Lansdowne Street area.

In a phone interview, Malone said she would not provide details of the violence because each incident is under investigation by police. There is no reason to believe the incidents are related, she said. But she said some license-violating act of violence occurred at each of the clubs that received a letter.

"We’re talking about violent incidents that have not happened with regard to clubs in the city before the past few months," Malone said. "We’re talking about serious issues of public safety."

About 50 clubs in Boston are licensed to hold 19-plus events, Malone said. Each must seek a special license and draft a security plan that explains how they will identify those younger than age 21 from those older. The clubs, which generally use stamps or bracelets to identify those of age to drink alcohol, are only permitted to hold 19-plus events one night a week.

None of the club owners could be reached Thursday night.

Malone said the throngs of local college students who flock to the 19-plus nights need not fear that they will have no place to party.

The suspension, she said, should not last more than several weeks. ‘‘Everyone’s on the same page,’’ she said. ‘‘These events have to be safe.’’

Underage residents, however, were worried what the city's move would mean for their social lives.

'I think it's awful, because now I have nowhere to go," said Stephen Broadus, 20, while walking through Kenmore Square.

Eric Lubarksky, 22, commiserated with his underage friend: "I think it's ridiculous, because my friends are underage and it makes it more difficult for me to go out."

Phil Burns, 19, said the city’s order might push more students to break the law. "It makes the only option for an underage person to have a fake ID," Burns said. "How am I going to go out and meet girls?"

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)

Hero saw hit coming; saves trooper's life

By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff

The tractor-trailer rumbled toward a highway pothole crew and a State Police cruiser, nothing in its path but a lone MassHighway worker in a truck.

Kevin M. Sullivan saw the tragedy coming at him in his rear-view mirror. But he didn’t think twice about putting his crash truck into the way.

"I just stood there and took it. That’s all," Sullivan, 59, said in an interview Thursday night in his room at Boston Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition. "When I looked back in the mirror, all I saw is the cab, the door, the silver of the box, and that’s when I said, 'I’m gonna get hit.'"

Sullivan’s truck got hit so hard it was pushed nearly 200 feet, then flipped end-over-end three times, over a guardrail and into a ditch along Interstate 495 in Middleborough.

"On the third end-over roll I yelled out, 'Stop the ride! I’ve had enough,'" he said. "It was better than anything Universal Studios has."

Sullivan has extensive bruising and lacerations on his face and what doctors believe is a chip in his cheekbone.

The tractor-trailer crushed the rear of Trooper Michael Fitzgerald’s cruiser, but the officer was treated and released Wednesday night, just hours after the accident.

State Police hailed Sullivan for preventing more serious injuries to Fitzgerald. A State Police chaplain visited Sullivan on Thursday, hand-delivering a framed State Police badge that Sullivan kept on his table as he ate a pasta dinner.

The driver of the 1995 Mack tractor-trailer, Duane Sylvia, 43, of Middleborough, was cited Thursday with operating to endanger, impeded operation, failure to yield to men and equipment in the roadway, and speeding in a construction zone.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)

Track work to close portions of the MBTA’s Green Line this summer

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

Track work will shut down portions of one branch of the MBTA’s Green Line for 10 weeks this coming summer, forcing Red Sox fans who usually take the T to hop on buses to at least nine games, officials said Thursday.

T officials said they are prepared, with plans to run regular and express bus service to Fenway Park. "The primary focus is on the people who use the branch on a daily basis," MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said Thursday night. "But we’re very cognizant of the fact that Red Sox fans use it as well."

The T plans to replace old track ties, renovate stations, and rebuild bridges along the D branch of the Green Line. The new ties will allow trolleys to go faster and clear the way for low-floor trolleys that are easier for the disabled and others to board. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board Thursday approved buying materials for the $9.5 million project, a cost that does not include renovating the Longwood and Brookline Village stations and the reconstructing the Hyde Street bridge in Newton.

Work to replace the 11 miles of track began last summer, but was halted after Newton residents complained of loud nighttime work. T officials met with community members and leaders for months to work out the latest plan, which will only take place during the day. T officials said they plan to take their plan to Newton Mayor David B. Cohen on Friday.

The first phase of the project will restore rail ties and make stations accessible from Riverside station in Newton to Reservoir station in Newton from June 21 to July 31. The T plans to use shuttle buses to ferry passengers between stations where the tracks are closed.

The Sox play 19 home games during that first stretch, but many fans will not be directly affected because they can still ride the T from Reservoir station to Fenway station in Boston.

There is a scheduled pause in the work between Aug. 1 and 3. The weekend of Aug. 4 and 5, the entire branch will be closed, and passengers will be bused its entire length, but no home games are on the calendar.

The second phase of the project will be from Reservoir station to Fenway station and will take place from Aug. 6 to Sept. 2, a period the Sox are scheduled to play nine home games.

During games, fans will be able to take either express or regular shuttle buses to Fenway, or take the C branch to Kenmore station, which will provide additional service during both phases of the project.

Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:27 PM | Comments (0)

Antiwar protesters gather on Boston Common

By April Simpson, Globe Staff

About 150 to 200 antiwar protesters rallied on Boston Common this evening to decry President Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq.

The crowd of largely middle-aged activists converged outside the Park Street T Station near Tremont Street. They hoisted signs that said: "War is terrorism with a bigger budget" and "Kill one person and it's murder, kill thousands and it's foreign policy."

Others wore sweatshirts that said: "Impeach Bush."

Protesters took turns at a microphone making speeches, trying to get the attention of commuters rushing in and out of the T station. Some stopped to listen, but most hurried by, ducking underground on their way to the subway.

One of the speakers was the radical historian Howard Zinn, the author of "A People's History of the United States." Zinn seemed emboldened by Bush's nationally televised announcement on Wednesday to send more troops to Iraq, telling the crowd that the president was completely disassociated from the impact the war had on people's lives.

"I thought it was a robot up there," Zinn said, referring to Bush during the speech. "I didn't sense an iota of feeling."

Posted by aryan at 5:45 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick surprises board implementing universal health care, saying it's "critically important"

By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today told the board overseeing the state's universal health insurance program that there is no room for error in their work, saying he would cooperate with them to "make changes and adjustments to perfect it."

"It is critically important that we get this right," he said.

The governor's unexpected appearance at the first meeting of the board since he took office marked the importance of the landmark effort to enroll about 500,000 state residents in health plans. The plan was devised by his predecessor, Mitt Romney, and the Legislature, and is serving as a model for other states. During the gubernatorial campaign, Patrick had endorsed a different coverage plan that required a bigger financial commitment from employers and raised money to pay for the program through a cigarette tax.

The governor did not elaborate on what changes he wanted to see in the insurance law, but promised not to "tinker too much." He told the board, "the success of your work is critically important," and offered his help.

The governor's secretary of administration and finance, Leslie Kirwan, today took over the chairmanship of the board of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, and his health and human services secretary Dr. JudyAnn Bigby also attended. Kirwan said that implementing the law, which requires the board to make crucial decisions about levels of coverage and costs, is "a huge priority" for the administration.

Since the plan began signing up the state's poorer uninsured residents on Oct. 1, about 34,000 have been enrolled. As of Jan. 1, a second group of uninsured, those with family incomes up to $60,000 a year, are eligible to sign up. By July 1, 2007, the law requires everyone in the state to have insurance or face financial penalties.

Posted by aryan at 4:46 PM | Comments (0)

Funeral held for Boston's first homicide victim of 2007

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Jason Fernandes, a 14-year-old Brockton boy who was Boston's first homicide victim of 2007, was buried today in Brockton.

About 250 people attended the funeral, held at the St. Edith Stein Parish on North Main Street.

Fernandes was shot to death at 5:45 a.m. Jan. 1, just as he was leaving a family gathering for New Year's Eve on Clarkston Street in Dorchester. His cousin, Christian "Manny" Resendes was also shot, but survived. No arrests have been made.

Dozens of Fernandes' former classmates and teachers attended the funeral. Fernandes was an eighth-grader at the BB Russell School in Brockton, which hosts Phoenix Alternative Programs for students with behavioral problems.

"He was just a great kid with a bright smile,'' said Yolanda Fonseca, who was the victim's fourth-grade teacher at Gilmore Elementary School in Brockton.

Posted by aryan at 3:03 PM | Comments (0)

Worker dies after five-story fall in Roxbury

By Amanda I Bergeron, Globe Correspondent

A worker died today after falling five stories at a construction site in Roxbury this morning, according to police and an official from the worker's company.

The man, whose name was not released, was rushed to Boston Medical Center in critical condition. He later died, an official from the worker's company said this afternoon. The man fell at about 11:20 a.m.

Police are currently investigating at the scene near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are also at the construction site.

Posted by aryan at 2:14 PM | Comments (0)

Harvard details Allston campus plan

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

Harvard University today released a sweeping plan to transform a 250-acre swath of Allston into an expanse of academic facilities, student housing and a new public square that officials said would be a twin to Cambridge's Harvard Square across the river, with a plaza, retail stores, theaters and a new art museum.

The university's 50-year master plan, submitted to Boston planning officials today, also calls for putting 20 acres of Soldiers Field Road underground in order to keep traffic out of view and replace surface roadway with tree-lined promenades.

Harvard officials said the project is likely to cost several billion dollars. The first phases, including a major science building and a museum that would house collections now at Harvard's Fogg and other art museums, are expected to get underway before year's end.

"There are a lot of big ideas that we wanted to put in this master plan," said Kathy Spiegelman, chief planner for the university's Allston campus.

To see an artist's rendering of the Allston plan, click here. For a comparison between what Allston looks like now and what Harvard officials say it will look like in 2050, click here.

The centerpiece of the plan is a "major urban space" to be called Barry's Corner.

With a large plaza, shopping and entertainment, the plan says "it will be urban, active, and when all the facilities are completed, a bustling scene."

Student housing would be sprinkled along the Charles River, and athletic fields and Harvard academic buildings will fill out the area. Harvard officials characterized the master plan is a framework that will serve as a guide for development. Harvard must seek additional approval from the city as it prepares detailed plans of individual buildings and developments.

When the first 20-year phase of the project is finished, officials said it will include 4 to 5 million square feet of new building space and create at least 5,000 new jobs.

To read earlier stories about Harvard’s plans in Allston, click here, and for an overview of the campus building boom in Boston, click here.

Posted by ddahl at 1:57 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick rescinds Romney's immigration plan, will instead train correction officers

By Jon Saltzman, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

Governor Deval Patrick today announced a plan to train 12 correction officers in two state prisons to enforce limited immigration laws as he rescinded a controversial agreement made in the waning days of the Romney administration to have state police hunt for illegal immigrants.

The 12 officers will be stationed at MCI Concord and MCI Framingham and will only scrutinize inmates who have already been convicted of crimes to determine if they are in the country illegally. The officers will have the power to initiate deportation proceedings and will notify the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"It has worked in other states," Patrick said at a news conference as he stood next to Kevin M. Burke, the new Secretary of Public Safety. Patrick added that the steps represented, "two actions that balance the responsible to ensure pubic safety and to address illegal immigration."

Then Governor Mitt Romney signed the 15-page agreement with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Dec. 13 that would have allowed specially deputized state troopers to arrest suspected illegal immigrants and charge them with violating US immigration laws.

During his campaign, Patrick called the plan a “gimmick” and told reporters on Dec. 21 that he would quash the agreement shortly after taking office. About 30 troopers had been scheduled to take a five-week training course early next year.

Burke, the Secretary of Public Safety, said at today's press conference that both the state police and federal immigration officials prefer the use of correction officers to assist federal authorities. Romney’s plan, Burke said, would have meant additional duties for an agency that is already stretched thin.

Instead, the 12 correction officers will receive four weeks of special training from ICE officials. The training will include specifics about the scope of their immigration authority; briefings on immigration and civil rights law; and instruction in federal and international rules for the treatment of foreign-born prisoners.

Similar agreements have been signed with state corrections departments in California, Florida and Arizona, according to the Patrick administration.

In Massachusetts, there are about 700 illegal immigrants in the prison system, Burke estimated. As part of the initiative, the administration will launch an outreach campaign to familiarize people with the new program so that families of those affected will understand their rights.

Posted by aryan at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)

Three bacterial meningitis cases reported in Mass

By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff

Three young Massachusetts children are recovering from bouts of bacterial meningitis, and disease specialists are investigating whether a fourth child is stricken with the potentially lethal illness, state health authorities said this morning.

The patients include 1-year-old twins in Lowell and a 3-year-old from Whitinsville, said Donna Rheaume, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health, who added that all three children either have been released from the hospital or are expected to be soon.

The illnesses of the twins and the 3-year-old do not appear to be related, Rheaume said. "And there's no connection to the situation last week in Rhode Island," she said. "We're confident there's no connection."

More than 20,000 school students in three Rhode Island communities were kept home last week after several cases of meningitis and encephalitis were identified there.

Massachusetts health authorities are investigating a report of an additional possible meningitis case in New Bedford, Rheaume said.

Last year, Massachusetts recorded 21 cases of bacterial meningitis; in 2004, 36 were reported and in 2005, 29.

Patients with meningitis experience an infection in the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It can be caused by a virus or bacterium, and the bacterial form is typically far more severe, potentially resulting in brain damage, hearing loss, learning disability, or even death. Symptoms include high fever, headache, and stiff neck.

Posted by aryan at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

Person hit by trolley on Green Line near Brookline Village

By Globe Staff

A pedestrian was struck by a Green Line trolley this morning near the Brookline Village Station, transit police said.

The pedestrian, who was not identified, was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The condition of the pedestrian was not immediately known, police said.

The person was hit at about 9:55 a.m. Official said they would release more information this afternoon.

Posted by aryan at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)

Bradford Washburn, father of modern Museum of Science, dies at 96

(Robert J. Keller/Globe Staff)

Bradford Washburn climbed seven stories in 1963 to inspect plaques installed at the Boston Museum of Science.

By Michael J. Bailey, Globe staff

Bradford Washburn, the founder of the Museum of Science and an explorer who spent three-quarters of a century unlocking the secrets of such sites as Mount McKinley and Mount Everest, died Wednesday of heart failure. He was 96.

Mr. Washburn was a world-class mountain climber and a renowned cartographer. He often said, however, that these were secondary pursuits. He'd be happy, he told the Globe in 2000, if his obituary were one sentence: "He built the Museum of Science."

"The top of Mount McKinley was thrilling," he once said, "but there's nothing on earth more exciting than the eyes of a
youngster at the instant of discovery."

For eight decades, Mr. Washburn traveled to some of earth's most remote regions, recorded his observations, and returned to share his discoveries.

Along the way, he was credited with being the first to reach the summits of seven North American mountains. As part of his effort to document his expeditions, he created photographs that were both aesthetic gems and gateways for other explorers. From such work, he is considered a pioneer of aerial photography.

"You recognize the explorer in Bradford Washburn at first sight," his longtime friend, the late Ansel Adams, said. "There is something about his eyes, the set of his chin ... the consistent energy of mind and spirit."

Mr. Washburn was known for his nearly boundless enthusiasm, a granite determination, and a meticulous attention to detail. Those qualities, colleagues said, brought success both in the jagged wilderness and in the thicket of Boston's politics and academia.

Mr. Washburn took over the helm of the New England Museum of Natural History in the Back Bay in 1939 at the age of 29. The museum then was little more than a dark repository of deteriorating stuffed animals. One patron had described it as "a grandmother's attic, a hodgepodge of ill-cared and often repulsive exhibits which belong by rights in a medical school."

Mr. Washburn later said he got the job because no one else wanted it.

He had energy and ideas; what he needed was money. So Mr. Washburn led a series of fund-raising drives that delivered millions of dollars. Within a decade, plans were set for a Museum of Science at the Charles River Basin. A mobile planetarium was built to travel across New England, attracting donations; an army of children was recruited to move the exhibits.

"Everyone thought we were absolutely mad," he once recalled.

In 1951, the new museum opened. Subsequent additions under his direction housed a planetarium and the 2 1/2 million-volt Van de Graaff generator. By the time he retired as director in 1980, Mr. Washburn had built "the first major museum anywhere to bring all science under a single roof -- natural, physical, applied, and a planetarium," said the late-Leonard Carmichael, who once ran the Smithsonian Institution.

The key, Mr. Washburn insisted, was bringing science to life. "The great majority of our visitors," he once said, "probably never will be scientists, but they will be better lawyers, businessmen, clergymen, scoutmasters, parents, citizens because of this fascinating glimpse of the wonders which lie constantly hidden on all sides of every one of us."

A Cambridge native, Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. attended the Buckingham School and the Groton School. His father was dean of an Episcopal theological school; his mother, Edith Buckingham Hall, was an amateur photographer who gave him his first camera, a Kodak Brownie, when he was 13.

In his boyhood, he was hampered by breathing difficulties. He found relief in the same place he would later find inspiration and, ultimately, a touch of glory.

"I had perfectly terrible hay fever for the first 10 years of my life," he said in 2000. "I noticed that I didn't get hay fever when I went into the mountains."

By age 11, he had hiked Mount Washington, the highest in New England; by 16, Mont Blanc, the highest in the Alps. Still in his teens, he wrote three guidebooks and gave lectures on the Alps in such august venues as Carnegie Hall in New York and Symphony Hall in Boston.

While an undergraduate at Harvard University, he began exploring what he called "the incredibly savage beauty" of Alaska.

After assuming control of the Natural History Museum, he attempted to recruit as his secretary a Smith College graduate working in Harvard's biology department. Barbara Polk, however, had little interest. "I didn't want to go work in that stuffy old place with a crazy mountain climber," she said in 2001.

With a persistence that would become his trademark, Mr. Washburn succeeded in hiring Polk. As they worked to shape the museum, the two fell in love and married. For their honeymoon, they made the first recorded ascent of Mount Bertha in Alaska.

"She's the best thing that ever happened to me," he often said.

Together, the Washburns hiked some of the most treacherous mountains of Alaska; they were most identified with North America's biggest: Mount McKinley.

At 20,320 feet, the mountain had been considered among the most difficult in the world to climb before Mr. Washburn began exploring and detailing it. The rise from plateau to summit exceeds that of Mount Everest by 6,000 feet. Its proximity to the jetstream and high latitude increase the chances of altitude sickness and harsh weather. In 1947, Mr. Washburn became the first to reach its summit twice, and Barbara became the first woman at the summit.

After a decade of research that included detailed maps and scores of photographs, Mr. Washburn devised a new path to the summit. Known as the West Buttress Route, this approach dramatically eased the ascent. Tens of thousands of climbers have since followed in his footsteps.

In his mountaineering pursuits, he displayed a single-mindedness -- more than one colleague called it an obsession.

Mr. Washburn, his wife said, was "the kind of guy who, when he makes up his mind about something, you don't have time to take a deep breath."

That dogged approach served him well in completing his climbs and in creating his maps and models, renderings that became signposts to generations of scientists and adventurers. In addition to his Alaska research, he created what many believe are the definitive maps of the Grand Canyon and the Presidential Range in New Hampshire.

In photography, Mr. Washburn married this profound sense of purpose with a sense of wonder. For his aerial images, he devised an elaborate process to capture the drama and the sweep of what he experienced. He would yank the side door off a single-engine plane and strap himself and his 53-pound Fairchild K-6 camera into position at the opening. At 20,000 feet with buffeting winds, finger-freezing temperatures, a vibrating and yawing fuselage, and oxygen sucked through a bottle, conditions were brutal.

The results were striking. Because they were shot from adjacent or diagonal angles, rather than from straight above or from the base, the shrouded rocks and shifting clouds create visceral, almost animate images. Epic in scale yet intimate in detail and shading, they are more like portraits of individual mountains than landscapes.

His photographs, critics say, don't merely record, they reveal.

"This is at once good science and expressive art," Clifford S. Ackley, a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, said in 2000.

Mount Everest eluded Mr. Washburn as a climber. "I was interested in climbing it, but that was before it was climbed, before [World War II], and I couldn't do it then because Nepal wouldn't let you in," he said in 2000. "And ... after the war I was just too damned busy getting this museum going."

After retiring from the museum in 1980, however, he saw an opportunity. No longer could he, at age 70, climb it. But he could, as he had throughout his life, use science to strip away some of its mysteries. In a years-long project involving scientists from a dozen other nations, Mr. Washburn led a team that took photographs during a series of crisscrossing flights around the mountain. From his research, he created state-of-the-art topographical maps and the world's largest model of Everest (12-by-15 feet), which was placed in the museum.

At age 89, he was part of a US team that used hikers and Global Positioning Satellites to determine Everest's height. To reveal their conclusions, team members turned to the man who had been sharing his experiences and enthusiasm since he was 16.

Mount Everest, Mr. Washburn told a news conference beamed around the world, was 29,035 feet, seven feet higher than previously measured.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Washburn leaves a son, Edward H.; two daughters, Dorothy Dundass of Newton and Elizabeth Cabot of Belmont; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

There will be no services.

"He didn't want any fuss," Barbara Washburn said.

Material from Globe correspondent Edgar Driscoll Jr. was used in this obituary.

Posted by aryan at 9:22 AM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2007

Entwistle returned to jail

By Jonathan Saltzman, GLOBE STAFF

Nearly three weeks after Neil Entwistle was transferred to Bridgewater State Hospital for a mental health evaluation, medical staff members have determined the murder defendant is not suicidal and let him return Wednesday to the Middlesex County Jail, according to Sheriff James V. DiPaola.

Entwistle, 28, who is accused of fatally shooting his wife and infant daughter in Hopkinton nearly a year ago in one of the most sensational murder cases in recent Massachusetts history, was escorted in manacles to the jail by three sheriff’s deputies.

"He does not appear to be a threat to himself or to others," DiPaola said afterward.

Entwistle, who had been held since Feb. 15 in a cell at the infirmary, will be moved to a special housing unit in the jail where correction officers will watch him around the clock. "There will be a human being outside his cell," said DiPaola.

Entwistle’s lawyer, Elliot M. Weinstein, declined to comment.

Entwistle was transferred to the hospital Dec. 21, the day after two guards spotted a letter in his cell that alarmed them, DiPaola said. Writing to his parents in Worksop, England, the British-born Entwistle said it might be his last letter to them and that he had nothing to live for, DiPaola said.

He also wrote that if he died, he wanted to have his ashes scattered over the graves of his wife, Rachel, and daughter, Lillian.

DiPaola said Entwistle never threatened to kill himself, but prison officials were concerned about depression. Entwistle could have been held 30 days at the hospital, run by the state Department of Correction, but the Bridgewater staff completed the evaluation sooner than expected, the sheriff said.

Entwistle’s next court appearance will be on Jan. 26. His trial is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1.

He is accused of fatally shooting his wife and daughter in their home on Jan. 20 and taking a flight to England. Authorities arrested him on a London subway nearly three weeks later.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:05 PM | Comments (0)

Arab-American named to a state-level homeland security position

By Andrea Estes, GLOBE STAFF

Governor Deval Patrick named a Harvard lecturer who frequently appears on television as a terrorism analyst as the state’s new homeland security adviser Wednesday.

Juliette Kayyem, 37, will be the only Arab-American to hold a state-level homeland security position, according to a spokesman for the US Department of Homeland Security. She will also be one of a handful of women to hold such a job.

"It’s a tremendous opportunity," said Kayyem, who will serve as undersecretary of homeland security -- a position that previous administrations did not have. She will be paid $125,000 a year.

"This is not an easy job -- conceptually, it’s huge. And there are so many competing priorities," Kayyem said.

Kayyem, who has given up her teaching job and her position as a terrorism analyst for NBC News, said Patrick and Kevin Burke, the secretary of public safety, are committed to having one person coordinate all the homeland security functions of state government.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)

Capuano calls for tunnel inspections

By Sean P. Murphy and Scott Allen, GLOBE STAFF

Upset that the Big Dig tunnel in which a ceiling collapsed had never been inspected, US Representative Michael E. Capuano filed a bill in Congress on Wednesday to mandate detailed inspections of all tunnels at least every two years.

Capuano, a Democrat from Somerville who sits on the House Transportation Committee, said Wednesday night that he filed the bill in reaction to the July 10 ceiling collapse that killed Milena Del Valle of Jamaica Plain.

Investigators quickly determined that the ceiling came down when a handful of bolts used to suspend it from the roof gave out. If inspectors had gone into the 5-foot-high crawl space above the suspended ceiling after the tunnel opened, they probably would have noticed bolts pulled out, perhaps alerting them to the danger of collapse, investigators have said.

"Clearly, more must be done to ensure the safety of the traveling public," Capuano said. "Apparently, if inspections are not required, they won’t be done. This bill would require those inspections."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:58 PM | Comments (0)

Highway worker protects trooper in I-495 crash, both seriously hurt

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

A state trooper was seriously injured this afternoon working a road detail on Interstate 495 when a tractor-trailer rammed a highway truck and then hit his cruiser, which was parked with its lights flashing, police said.

The trooper, Michael Fitzgerald, was flown to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with "serious injuries,' according to a release from state police. Fitzgerald was spared from facing the full force of the tractor-trailer when the driver of the Mass Highway truck sensed danger and turned his vehicle to protect the trooper.

The highway truck driver, Kevin Sullivan, 59, of Carver, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton by ambulance with serious injuries, police said.

The 1:45 p.m. accident on southbound Interstate 495 near Exit 4 in Middleborough temporarily closed the interstate in both directions. The road has since opened to traffic.

According to a preliminary investigation by state police, Fitzgerald's cruiser was parked in front of the Mass. Highway truck in the right travel lane while the road was being repaired. The emergency lights of both vehicles were flashing.

Police said a fully loaded 1995 Mack tractor-trailer came down the right travel lane, heading for the truck and the police cruiser. Sullivan moved the truck to protect Fitzgerald, and the Mack hit the highway truck before ramming the police cruiser.

The highway truck flipped over the guardrail and rolled into the woods, police said. The driver of the Mack tractor-trailer, Duane Sylvia, 43, of Middleborough, suffered minor injuries.

The crash remains under investigation. No charged have been filed.

Fitzgerald has been on the department for one year and is assigned to the Bourne Barracks.

Posted by aryan at 6:17 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick speaks to national audience on CNN

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

Governor Deval Patrick appeared before a national audience this afternoon on CNN and talked to anchor Don Lemon about being the second African-American governor since Reconstruction.

The eight-minute and 30-second spot offered a condensed version of Patrick life story, including pictures from his childhood growing up poor on the South Side of Chicago and snippets from last week's inaugural address. Lemon asked Patrick what his election and the advance of other black politicians said about tolerance in America.

"People are hungry for leadership," said Patrick, speaking before a backdrop of the Boston skyline. "They are willing to take a chance on leadership that lifts them up, that is more hopeful, that is about a positive vision of our future." For a politician who promotes that vision, Patrick said, "People will look past all kinds of differences."

Patrick's predecessor, Governor Mitt Romney, was criticized for playing too much to a national audience and pursuing his presidential ambitions. Romney, a Republican, filed paperwork to form a presidential campaign committee the day he left office.

On CNN, Lemon talked about the praise showered on Patrick from national politicians such as former President Bill Clinton and Senator Barack Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, and then asked about the high expectations. Patrick downplayed the accolades and said people should expect more from themselves and their politicians.

Lemon then asked about early criticism of the governor, including the cost of his inauguration and his decision to restore Romney's budget cuts despite a $1 billion shortfall.

Patrick gave the same answers he has to the Massachusetts media, that his inauguration was privately funded and designed to be inclusive, and that he carefully considered the budget before restoring the cuts.

One last question from Lemon: Casino gambling in Massachusetts?

"It's a tough one," Patrick said with a smile. "But what I've said is I will take my time and listen to both sides."

Posted by aryan at 4:40 PM | Comments (0)

DA says defendant received fair trial in Cape killing

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Prosecutors say that a black trash collector convicted of murdering a white fashion writer on Cape Cod received a fair trial even if jurors made racially insensitive remarks during jury deliberations.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael D. O'Keefe said in court papers filed Tuesday that even if three jurors made racial slurs, as three other jurors alleged in affidavits, that does not mean that defendant Christopher M. McCowen had an unfair trial, before he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. O'Keefe also objected to a defense request for the judge to hold a hearing on whether to interview jurors.

Indeed, O'Keefe contends that it was McCowen's lawyer, Robert A. George, who introduced the race issue during the trial by arguing that prosecutors dismissed McCowen's claims that he had a consensual sexual relationship with Christa Worthington, the victim.

"The defendant cannot now complain of some discussion of race during deliberations, when the defendant himself made the issue of race the focal-point of his defense at trial," O'Keefe said in a 12-page response urging Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary A. Nickerson to deny a request for a hearing at which defense lawyers and prosecutors could interview jurors.

George says O'Keefe's response is "totally incorrect" and that prosecutors are "wearing blinders" about how racism infected jury deliberations.

Posted by srhee at 2:02 PM | Comments (0)

Kennedy Presidential Library names director

By Globe Staff

Tom Putnam today was formally named director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum after serving five months as acting director.

Putnam, who first came to the library in 1999 as director of education, was chosen by the National Archives and Records Administration, which oversees the National Archives and the country's 11 presidential libraries.

"Tom is fully prepared for the challenge of administering a word-class archive, library, and museum," said Allen Weinstein, the Archivist of the United States, in a statement. "He blends a firm commitment to the Kennedy Library’s track record of high achievement with keen support for the Presidential library system and for a broader commitment to the National Archives."

During his tenure as education director, Putnam upgraded the Kennedy Library Forum Series; developed new museum and civic education programs for elementary, middle and high school students; and expanded outreach to students with a free bus program.

He is the fifth director since the library was dedicated in 1979. Putman's appointment is effective immediately.

Posted by aryan at 1:20 PM | Comments (0)

Kelly remembered with a bagpiper and flowers

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

The plaintive wail of a single bagpipe echoes through concrete corridors of City Hall today as officials mourn the death of long-time Councilman James M. Kelly.

The bagpiper, decked in a green-checkered kilt, is standing outside the Christopher Iannella City Council Chamber. His music echoes through the hulking building and can be heard by people paying parking tickets and waiting in line for city services.

Inside the Council Chamber, the lights are dim and yellow flowers have been set on Kelly's desk. Black and white photographs of the seven-term Council President sit on a table. There is also a condolence book for people to sign. The Council Chamber will remain open to the public for people to remember Kelly until 5 p.m. on Friday.

Kelly died Tuesday at the age of 66 after a long battle with brain cancer. He used his 23 years on the City Council as a bully pulpit. To some, he was a hero who championed his South Boston neighborhood. To others, he was a polarizing symbol of intolerance who led opposition to court-mandated busing in the 1970s.

To sign an online condolence book, click here.

There will be visiting hours at St. Brigid Church in South Boston from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday. A funeral Mass will be said at noon Friday at St. Brigid.

Posted by aryan at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)

Romney backs Bush plan to send more troops to Iraq

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent, and Scott Helman, Globe Staff

Mitt Romney today endorsed President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq, saying that the military must protect civilians from the violence gripping Baghdad and other parts of the country.

In his first comments on the war since formally establishing his presidential campaign, Romney suggested sending five more brigades to Baghdad and an additional two regiments to the Al-Anbar province. A brigade is typically made up of about 5,000 troops, while a regiment can vary in number.

While Romney did not reference a specific number of troops, his suggestion is in line with a plan that President Bush is expected to announce this evening in nationally televised speech. The president is expected to say that five active-duty combat brigades, or about 20,000 troops, will be deployed in Iraq beginning at the end of the month.

"I agree with the President: Our strategy in Iraq must change," Romney said. "Our military mission, for the first time, must include securing the civilian population from violence and terror. It is impossible to defeat the insurgency without first providing security for the Iraqi people. Civilian security is the precondition for any political and economic reconstruction."

In the past, Romney has criticized the execution of the war, but not the president. He has joined Bush in rejecting calls for an early withdrawal. And, like Bush, he's questioned several key elements of the Iraq Study Group report, saying it "suggested somehow we would pull out in a setting that was less than victorious."

In an interview last month with the conservative magazine Human Events, Romney declined to discuss specifics about tactics or troops levels, saying he was still a governor and would wait to hear the president's plan. He did, however, suggest that the war had been mismanaged.

"We had insufficient troops in place," Romney told the magazine. "We had insufficient plans. We did not have the appropriate rules of engagement in place. Obviously, there were management lapses—events such as Abu Ghraib make that clear. For all those reasons, we did less than the entirely effective job that we would have hoped to be able to do. And as a result, we're in a difficult position right now."

Posted by aryan at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)

January 9, 2007

Homeowner recalls burning of his mother and a child

By Brian R. Ballou and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Awakened by his mother’s screams, Thanh Quach jumped from his bed Monday afternoon and ran through a hallway that had filled with smoke at his Dorchester home. Near the bathroom, he spotted the infant his mother had been baby-sitting on the floor, and then he saw flames coming from the baby’s hair and clothes.

"I picked her up and took her to the bathtub," said Quach, 37, sitting Tuesday morning in a car parked next to his mildly damaged house at 47 Dix St. "I put cold water on her head. She was burned, but she did not cry. She did not say anything."

The year-old infant, Diana Lam Tran, and the father who allegedly caused her injuries, Dung Van Tran, 35, sustained life-threatening burns and remained in critical condition Tuesday at Massachusetts General Hospital’s burn unit. Quach’s mother, Nguyen Trinh, 65, was in serious condition at Brigham and Women’s Hospital with second-degree burns to 20 percent of her body, police said.

Authorities started a criminal investigation almost immediately after the fire, first reported about 5:47 p.m., was extinguished, based on an accelerant found inside the house and records indicating that Tran, who lives a little more than a mile from the Dix Street address, had made repeated threats against Lien Lam, his estranged wife and the mother of the injured child. Lam rented a room at the three-decker, but was at work when the fire started, Quach said.
Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said the investigation into the fire will focus on Tran. Details on how Tran allegedly set the fire, which caused an estimated $10,000 damage to the building, were not provided.

Records show he has a history of domestic threats against his wife, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick appointee opts out

By Frank Phillips and Andrea Estes, GLOBE STAFF

State Representative Daniel E. Bosley, appointed a few weeks ago to be Deval Patrick’s new economic development adviser, has backed out in a dispute over the scope of his duties and his pay, according to two close colleagues.

Bosley, a Democrat from North Adams elected this fall to his 11th term in the House, had been promised a position overseeing all state agencies involved in economic development, but 10 days ago learned from Patrick that his role would be limited and his power diminished, the colleagues said.

"The original offer was not the same as the final offer, and it would not have given him the opportunity to impact economic development policy," said Mayor John Barrett III of North Adams, a political ally and close friend. "It was better for him to remain in the Legislature. As he said to me, he didn’t need the job just to fatten his pension."

Bosley’s quick exit, the first stumble in Patrick’s efforts to launch his administration, offers a glimpse into how the new governor plans to operate. Patrick said he will take over the role of overseeing economic development agencies himself, revealing a hands-on style of governing that is a sharp departure from the way his Republican predecessors operated.

And while the two men insisted they are still friends, Patrick may have alienated a key legislator. Bosley serves as chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, a powerful panel that can decide the fate of policy initiatives in areas such as job creation and casino gambling. Bosley strongly opposes legalized gambling.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)

Ritz rolls out new moniker -- and more

By Michael Levenson, GLOBE STAFF

The doorman who greeted Winston Churchill during his stay after World War II will retire his blue coat and blue cap Wednesday and don a new uniform, black with lamb’s-wool lapels and black fur hat.

The Ritz Fizz -- the signature cocktail of blue Curaçao, Amaretto, champagne, and a splash of sour mix, which has been served at the bar since 1930 -- will disappear from the menu.

Finally, workers will remove the distinctive brass lion’s head from the dark, wood-paneled entrance to the bar. And outside, they will hoist a new flag, emblazoned with the words, Taj Boston.

As the Ritz-Carlton falls under new ownership, it is not only getting a new name, it is gaining a new identity. Many details that made the hotel an enduring emblem of Brahmin elegance for 80 years will disappear like so many petits fours set before a hungry diner at afternoon tea.

The changes are bittersweet for this grande dame that, like many of its patrons, prided itself on blithe indifference to trends and fads.

It was only a decade ago that the hotel finally relaxed its insistence that men wear jackets in the dining room, and that was only after Mayor Raymond L. Flynn was summarily booted from a table for daring to sup in a Red Sox cap and golf shirt.

Reaction among the faithful has been swift.

"I’m in mourning," said Karl Smith , 71, a retired Merrill Lynch executive who has been visiting the Ritz with his wife, Margaret, for 30 years. "I will not be able to call it the Taj. It will always be the Ritz-Carlton. There’s so much history, if the walls could talk you could write an incredible book, on the people, the guests, and the events that have happened here."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)

Two killed in commuter rail crash in Woburn

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

A commuter rail train plowed into a work crew at a Woburn track crossing, killing two workers and critically injuring another, while injuring several passengers as the massive locomotive lurched to a halt.

The violent collision left a mangled piece of repair equipment lying on the side of the tracks, as dozens of emergency crews descended on the scene.

MBTA officials said investigators are trying to determine why a track switching device was improperly set. The switch should have directed the commuter train on a track parallel to the one the workers were on, but instead sent the train straight into them.

The Boston-bound train was coming from Lowell when it hit the crew at about 2 p.m. just south of Mishawum Station and north of Montvale Avenue in Woburn. The six-person work crew had been replacing ties on the track since just after morning rush hour, said Massachusetts Bay Transportation officials. A dispatcher at the operations control center in Somerville had been notified that the crew was in place. Eight other trains had been through the area prior to the accident, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

The crew and the tie-replacing equipment took a direct hit from the train, which sustained several shattered windows but no significant damage. At least 10 of the 43 passengers on board were shaken up and transported to local hospitals, according to local emergency workers. None of the 10 passengers had visible signs of injuries.

Transit officials identified of the crew members killed today as Christopher Macaulay, 30, of Brentwood, N.H., and James Zipps, 54, of Lowell.

Another crew member, John Hickey, 50, of Lowell, was flown to Boston Medical Center, and crew member, Edwin Olson, 55, also of Lowell, was rushed to Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington. The two other surviving workers, who were not identified because their families had not been notified, were taken to Winchester Hospital.

The workers were employed by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, a private consortium under contract to operate and maintain the MBTA's rail fleet. The MBTA bused the stranded passengers to train stations in Woburn and Winchester, where they could continue on other trains.

"MBCR is stunned and deeply saddened by today's horrific tragedy. Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of these workers," said Richard A Davey, Jr., general counsel for the MBCR.

Justin Pimpare, an environmental engineer on his way back home to Boston from his Lowell office, was on the train's second car at the time of the crash.

"It was like going from 50 mph to zero," he said. "We were traveling along and I heard a large bang and the train came to a screeching halt. It felt like we had been derailed."

His colleague, Maureen McClelland, 55, a toxicologist from Boston, said, "We got knocked into our seats and then went forward."

Her head and hands were driven into the seat back, causing slight bruising on her knuckles. But she said most passengers in her car took it in stride.

"There was not mass panic," said McClelland.

Posted by srhee at 5:59 PM

Updated statement from Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad

Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad General Manager James F. O'Leary issued the following update regarding the fatal accident that occurred today in Woburn:

As previously reported, an accident took place shortly before 2:00 p.m. between an MBTA commuter rail train and track repair equipment near the Anderson Station in Woburn. The maintenance crew was conducting routine work at the site to repair rail ties when the accident occurred.

"In addition to two MBCR workers killed in the collision, four other track workers were injured and taken to area hospitals. One worker was taken by Med Flight to Boston Medical Center, another was taken to the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, and two more with minor injuries were taken to Winchester Hospital.

The names of victims are:

• Christopher Macaulay, 30, Brentwood, NH (deceased)
• John Hickey, 50, Lowell, MA (taken to Boston Medical Center)
• Edwin Olson, 55, Lowell, MA (taken to Lahey Clinic)

Please be advised that the name of one deceased worker and two injured workers are being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.

MBCR also has learned that ten passengers on the commuter rail train reported minor injuries and were taken to Wilmington Hospital for medical treatment.

At this time, the cause of the accident remains under investigation.
To this end, MBCR remains in contact with the MBTA, the Federal Rail

Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board to ensure
a full and thorough investigation.

Counselors have been made available and will remain available to assist MBCR employees with their grief.

On behalf of everybody in the MBCR family, we offer condolences and prayers to the family and loved ones of these workers. We share their grief and pain.

Posted by aryan at 5:46 PM | Comments (0)

Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad statement on Woburn crash

Richard A. Davey Jr., the general counsel for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, issued the following statement today about the fatal train crash in Woburn:

"Shortly before 2:00 p.m., an MBTA commuter rail train struck track repair equipment near the Anderson Station in Woburn. Initial reports indicate that two MBCR workers were killed in the collision. The condition of other track workers who were present at the scene is unknown at this time. An unknown number of workers are presently receiving medical treatment at area hospitals.

"MBCR is stunned and deeply saddened by today’s horrific tragedy. Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of these workers. Please be advised that the names of victims will be withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.

"MBCR has confirmed that there were no injuries to the passengers or to the crew.

"At this time, MBCR is maintaining ongoing communication with Governor Patrick’s office, MBTA General Manager Grabauskas, MBTA police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that all appropriate steps are being taken to address this situation."

Posted by aryan at 3:00 PM | Comments (0)

More dolphins stranded on Cape Cod

By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent

Rescuers worked to save another eight dolphins found beached today on Cape Cod in the latest in a series of nearly 30 strandings since Dec. 29.

The Cape Cod Stranding Network was trying to help the eight Atlantic White-sided dolphins who were found struggling in shallow water at a beach off Chequessett Neck Road, according to a dispatcher for the Wellfleet Police and Fire departments.

Five of the stranded mammals were expected to live, the dispatcher said. Three dolphins were in critical condition.

Posted by aryan at 2:34 PM | Comments (0)

T gets more homeland security money

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

Federal homeland security officials announced today that the MBTA will receive $15.3 million to bolster security on trains and buses, focusing on "high-risk and high-consequence areas" both underground and underwater. It is the largest single security grant the T has received.

In addition, the Port of Boston moved to a higher-risk port, making it eligible for more homeland security money.

The T plans to use the grants to enhance video surveillance and to start a pilot program that will expand a system used to detect biological, nuclear, radiological, and explosive material. The grant will also allow the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to expand security on buses, including adding more surveillance cameras.

Posted by srhee at 2:16 PM | Comments (0)

From The Globe archives: James M. Kelly in 1995

The following is a story about long-time City Councilor James M. Kelly that ran in The Globe on March 5, 1995. Kelly died this morning at the age of 66 after a long bout with brain cancer.

The everlasting Hurrah
That Jimmy Kelly can be elected City Council president at a time when nearly half the city's residents are nonwhite says much about Boston politics

By Michael Rezendes, Globe Staff

On a gray morning in early January, 13 city councilors gather at City Hall to choose a council president. It is an annual rite, and it is a natural time to ponder Boston's slow change from a collection of urban villages dominated by the Irish to a contemporary American city of blacks, whites, Asians, and Hispanics, many of them from foreign lands.

Yet eight of the city councilors, one more than the required majority, choose to reelect as president the one city councilor who most actively personifies the past: James M. Kelly, the district representative from South Boston and a vocal opponent of school busing, affirmative action, and racial integration in the city's public housing.

Kelly -- short, stocky, and physically aggressive at 54 -- strides up to the dais the moment the vote is announced and lets his colleagues know that his primary mission will be to hold on to what remains of the city's dwindling middle class. "Boston clearly cannot continue in the direction it has been headed during the last 15 or 20 years," he says. "More people are leaving, because of the crime, the schools, and a number of other issues."

In front of the audience at the City Hall ceremony, Kelly addresses the concerns of all of Boston's middle-class residents, whatever their race. When, for example, he declaims on the need "to end the insanity of this slow-motion civil war we have going on in certain neighborhoods, kids killing kids over nothing," he is seeking to keep middle-class minorities in the city by fighting crime in their neighborhoods.

But during interviews, it's clear that Kelly's priority as City Council president is somewhat different. "My main objective is to stabilize the city, to maintain a white middle class," he says. It's also clear that Kelly is willing to help minority residents only as long as they are willing to remain in the neighborhoods where they currently reside. Asked if he considers himself a separatist, Kelly replies, "If people want to associate with people most like themselves, let them."

Throughout his 11 years on the council, and particularly during the 14 months since he was first elected president, Kelly has tried to moderate the combative image that has earned him notoriety as an implacable foe of school busing and one of the council's most ardent conservatives. Long gone is the brown leather jacket he often wore as a spokesman for the South Boston Information Center (his tastes now run to dark suits accented by the occasional Kelly-green tie). Gone, too, apparently, are the days when he and his council nemesis, Charles Yancey, would treat spectators to expletive-laden exchanges and threaten to come to blows, as they did after a 1991 Public Safety Committee hearing.

There is little doubt, however, that Kelly's views remain as they were 20 years ago, when he emerged as a streetwise antibusing leader to be reckoned with. "Jimmy has matured in public life -- extraordinarily -- but that's not to say he's changed his ideology," says Larry DiCara, a Boston attorney and former City Council president. "His modus operandi is different, but in many ways you're looking at the same guy."

Then again, in many ways, you're not. For in 1967, when school busing was unthinkable on the streets of South Boston, Kelly was serving a six-month sentence at the old Deer Island House of Correction for the illegal possession of a firearm. He was also a heavy drinker with a reputation on the street, a man who picked his friends from the ranks of organized crime.

Kelly's journey to sobriety and the right side of the law has been as transforming as the journey the city has made in the years since federal Judge W. Arthur Garrity ordered the buses to roll, in June of 1974. "Jimmy could have gone the other way. He could have ended up dead. But he didn't," says Bernard O'Donnell, a South Boston activist and a probation officer at Roxbury District Court.

The answer to how Kelly could be elected city council president at a time when nearly half of the city's residents are nonwhite is in part an exercise in ward and precinct politics. Nonwhites still comprise a minority of Boston voters, which makes it difficult for them to win one of the four citywide council seats. And they are scattered throughout the city in patterns that make it difficult for them to dominate a majority of the nine district positions. Hispanics, for example, are spread across at least three districts, in neighborhoods such as Jamaica Plain, the South End, and East Boston. Asians, meanwhile, are living in significant concentrations in at least four districts, in neighborhoods such as Allston, Chinatown, East Boston, and Dorchester. Blacks, by contrast, are more concentrated -- some might say segregated -- in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan and, as a result, have elected the only two minority city councilors.

The willingness of city councilors to name Kelly as their leader is also an exercise in Realpolitik, an acknowledgment that Kelly now finds himself in an enviable political constellation. He is, after all, a close ally of Mayor Tom Menino, a former district city councilor from Hyde Park; a comrade in arms of Senate president William Bulger, a South Boston neighbor and fellow busing foe; and a friend of Peter Berlandi, a former South Boston neighbor and the chief political fund-raiser for Gov. William Weld.

In the world of Boston politics, that's about as connected as most people ever get. Yet support for Kelly on the council may run deeper still, to a fear of the future, a reluctance to relinquish the mores and traditions of a way of life that is by now quickly fading. It is a way of life in which the general view is inward -- not upward or outward -- but it is also a way of life in which the preeminent values revolve around family, friends, and allegiance to a sense of place.
From the beachfront homes of City Point to the Broadway barrooms of the gritty Lower End, South Boston has a sense of place like no other neighborhood in the city. It's got its own anthem ("Southie's My Home Town"), its own hallowed traditions (like the St. Patrick's Day Parade), and its own mythic cast of sinners and saints.

In South Boston, organized-crime leader James (Whitey) Bulger is revered by many as a native son, even though his reign over neighborhood rackets has coincided with a rise in drug trafficking. Meanwhile, Bulger's brother, the Senate president, is hailed as a patriarch and protector, the intellectual apologist for the excesses of a community that has fought tooth, nail, and then some to control its schools and its housing. As Kelly says, "Whitey is a gentleman, and Billy is the most honest man I have ever met."

Although South Boston has acquired a reputation for being inhospitable to outsiders, the neighborhood today provides the qualities of life that seem so lacking in too many of America's urban communities: safe streets, lifelong friendships, and the knowledge that in times of trouble, the local safety net is not only a government program but also an extended network of neighbors and acquaintances who won't allow one of their own to go down.

"I look at South Boston as a place where people really care for one another, really protect one another," Kelly says. "People from other areas who criticize the parochialism of the neighborhood would do well to emulate some of the very positive things we do."

Kelly, more than anyone, is in charge of preserving the South Boston way for the 30,000 people who live there, most of them descendants of Irish, Italian, Polish, and Lithuanian immigrants. While the Bulgers are the stuff of local legend, appearing only occasionally on the streets of "the town," Kelly is the day-to-day keeper of the flame, the go-to guy when a street light goes out, a park needs to be cleaned, or the beer-drinking teen-agers down on the corner are getting out of hand.

"The one person every community leader in South Boston works with is Jim Kelly," says longtime neighborhood activist Gerard Vierbickas. "When people in South Boston have a problem, it's almost always with city services. They really don't have much contact with state government."

Lucky them. During more than a decade at City Hall, Kelly has built a\ reputation as Boston's most effective city councilor, mostly through unstinting attention to the mundane responsibilities associated with providing constituent services. He is frequently the first of the councilors to arrive at City Hall in the morning, the last to leave in the evening, and the only one to appear on weekends. "I don't agree with all of his political views," says Councilor at Large Richard Iannella, "but he's truly one of the hardest- working councilors to work City Hall in many years."

It was Kelly's penchant for long hours and his dedication to the routine chores of a district city councilor that led to his friendship with then-district councilor Menino. Throughout most of the 1980s, Kelly and Menino tended their respective precincts with the same block-by-block attention to detail and a similar commitment to personal relationships.

Today, Kelly and Menino are likely to disagree on a wide assortment of issues. Menino, for instance, believes gays and lesbians should be permitted to march in South Boston's St. Patrick's Day Parade. Kelly -- need it be said? -- does not. Yet, their relationship seems stronger than ever. "Jimmy and I are very close," Menino says. "Very often we agree to disagree, but we talk almost daily."

As his friendship with Menino shows, Kelly, a self-described Reagan Democrat, has been able to tiptoe through Boston's political minefields, forging alliances that cross party and ideological lines with virtual impunity. In large measure, that's because he consistently upholds what may be the preeminent value of his hometown: loyalty. "It's the single most important thing to him in the political life," says Mike McCormack, a Boston attorney and former councilor at large. "And loyalty for Jim Kelly isn't necessarily paying obeisance. It's more a matter of not turning your back when a guy needs your help."

Jim Kelly would be the first to say he's lucky to be in politics, lucky to have a job, lucky to be alive. "Of the 70 or 80 people in the crowd that I grew up with," he says, "only about 15 of us are left."
Certainly, Kelly never imagined a career in politics back in 1967, when he was a 26-year-old father of three looking out at the world from a cell on Deer Island. At the time of his arrest, Kelly was an occasional construction worker who had graduated from South Boston High School and served an apprenticeship as a sheet-metal worker at the Jim Did It Sign Co., in Allston.

But construction work couldn't compete with living fast, hitting the bars, packing a piece, and hanging out with friends in the Mullins gang, a violent South Boston criminal organization involved in gambling and loan sharking. "I was a rogue," Kelly recalls. "I was a barroom brawler. I was, I guess, feared."

Kelly rarely discusses his associations with South Boston criminals of the late 1960s. But he admits that as a young man he was swept up in the gangland culture that dominated many of Boston's Irish and Italian neighborhoods. ''There was a gang war going on at the time, and a number of my friends had gotten killed," he says, when asked to explain why he carried a gun. "I probably had a feeling that I could protect myself if I had a reputation for carrying a firearm."

Those were the days when the Killeen brothers held sway over organized criminal activity in South Boston, collecting tribute from bookmakers and loan sharks with the assistance of Whitey Bulger. By the early 1970s, however, Bulger had switched his allegiance to the Mullins crew -- Kelly's gang -- which was vying for control of South Boston's underworld. Kelly says that he was never a member of the Mullins organization but that his friendships with members of the enterprise led to a belief that he was. "I was very fond of some of the people who were in it," he says, "so I guess I was perceived to be part of the gang."

In 1974, when resistance to busing exploded in violence on the streets of South Boston, police and ranking members of the administration of Mayor Kevin White feared that antibusing activists were taking their cues from organized- crime leaders. The fear was due in part to Kelly and the perception that he was part of the Mullins crowd.

In September of that year, for example, John Doyle, Boston's deputy superintendent of police, told a Globe reporter that two members of the Mullins gang, one of them Kelly, had helped organize and lead an antibusing rally at which 22 protesters were arrested after scuffling with police. The Mullins gang had "assumed a very active role in calling people up and telling them to get over to the scene -- or else," Doyle was quoted as saying.

But Kelly scoffs at the notion that organized criminals ever played a substantive role in antibusing protests. "Parents in South Boston didn't need any lessons in how to stand up for their children," he says. "It was all very instinctive." Furthermore, Kelly says, by the time the buses were rolling, he had given up "the life."
Kelly traces his metamorphosis from barroom brawler to community leader to March 24, 1971, the day he took his last drink. "I could see the heartbreak I was causing in the people who were near and dear to me," he explains. "My mother, my sisters, my ex-wife, my friends, were all very fond of me. And my children were getting older. I didn't want them to see that their father was a crazy guy who did crazy kinds of things. So I just woke up and said, 'That's it. I'm done.'"

But the transition wasn't as easy as it may sound. Sporadically employed, Kelly moved into an apartment in the Old Colony housing project rented by his former wife, Nancy. Then, when he was working on a construction job in downtown Boston, a piece of an air-conditioning unit fell on his right arm and severed a tendon, ending his years in the building trades.

Nor was the road that eventually led to Kelly's political career ever a clear-cut path. Shortly after he quit drinking, for instance, Kelly agreed to play an active role in the affairs of the sheet-metal workers' union, Local 17. But when he rose to ask a question at a union meeting, this onetime associate of the Mullins gang found himself struck dumb by an unexpected foe: fear of public speaking. "I would have preferred to face a firing squad," Kelly says. "I was absolutely terrified of getting up in front of a group of guys and speaking, even if it was only to ask a question."

To his Irish brethren, many of whom take pride in their oratorical skills, Kelly's most startling act probably was his enrollment in a Dale Carnegie course. But it was a wise move. He soon learned what did not come naturally and went on to campaign successfully as a trustee of Local 17, gaining public speaking experience and valuable organizational skills along the way.

When forced busing shattered South Boston's cherished insularity, Kelly shared the anguish of his neighbors. "When the busing began, there were tens of thousands of people adamantly opposed, and no one more opposed than I," he recalls. "In my heart, I felt that busing children beyond their neighborhood school because of their race was racist in itself. In my very being, I believed it was immoral, un-American, counterproductive, and outrageously wrong. I felt that way in 1974. I feel that way in 1995. I will feel that way forever."

Despite his passion, Kelly moved tentatively among the town's antibusing leaders, content to play a subservient role, never believing that one day he would develop a political following of his own. And, contrary to popular belief, his role model in those years was not state Sen. Bill Bulger, who one day would become Senate president. Nor was it state Rep. Raymond Flynn, who would become mayor of the city. It was City Councilor Louise Day Hicks, the first lady of South Boston and the soul of the antibusing crusade. "Louise and I developed a very close bond that exists to this day," Kelly says. "I was her driver, and she considered me her protector. I regard her as a woman of tremendous compassion and integrity."

By the early 1980s, the antibusing movement had lost much of its fervor. Working-class white families, outmatched by the power of the federal judiciary, were deserting the schools and the city. Yet Boston remained deeply troubled by busing, and by additional federal actions designed to integrate the city's public housing stock and its police and fire departments. Across the city, racial violence erupted with frightening frequency -- in white neighborhoods, in black neighborhoods, even in supposedly neutral downtown locations such as City Hall Plaza and Boston Common, where blacks were attacked by angry bands of white teen-agers.

It was during this uncertain time that Kelly launched his political career with a campaign for a seat on the old nine-member, at-large City Council. Without doubt, Kelly was a South Boston product. But he believed that voters in his home base, combined with those in the antibusing precincts of East Boston, Charlestown, Hyde Park, and Dorchester, would be sufficient to send him to City Hall.

He was probably right. In a field of 40 candidates, Kelly survived the 1981 preliminary council race, and polls showed him among the top nine contenders going into the stretch for the final election. But with less than a week remaining before election day, a television station ran a news spot about Kelly's time at Deer Island, and support for his candidacy seemed to fade. When it was all over, Kelly placed 10th, just out of the running and behind Bruce Bolling, who became the first black Boston city councilor in a decade.

In that same election, voters also approved a new form of local government, replacing the nine-member at-large council with a 13-member body made up of nine district representatives and four councilors at large, to be elected two years hence. Kelly quickly reentered the fray and won a 1983 bid to represent District 2, which includes Bay Village, Chinatown, a slice of Dorchester, a generous portion of the South End, and all of South Boston.

"Representing the people you grew up with is as good as it gets," Kelly says, brushing aside the idea that he might regret having lost his race for an at-large seat. "I guess what I'm trying to do, in my own way, is to repay all of the people who stood by me when I was acting really punky."

These days, Kelly lives with his mother, Helen, in a modest condominium in South Boston's City Point section. He is on good terms with his former wife. Two of his three children, Sandra and Jamie, are raising families in the suburbs, while the third, Tommy, lives in South Boston. He has seven grandchildren.

If you ask, Kelly will tell you he learned a long time ago that carrying a gun isn't much protection if someone is dead set on killing you. He will also tell you that young men who carry firearms to appear manly have it all wrong. ''In hindsight, there's nothing macho about it, nothing attractive about it at all," he says. "I guess the older we get, the more we see that being manly is providing for your family, getting involved in your neighborhood, trying to help people."

But Kelly isn't pushing any of his hard-earned wisdom on the young toughs trying to make their mark on the street today. It's not his style. "I'd just as soon tell kids to knock off the bull," he says.
That no-nonsense attitude is on display, week in and week out, as Kelly leads the fight against racial integration in the city's housing projects, an issue that has replaced school busing as a cause celebre in South Boston. ''People born and raised in the neighborhood are being denied public housing in the neighborhood," Kelly says. "They're being told that, if they want to live in public housing, they have to go over to Orchard Park, or to Mission Hill, or to Bromley Heath. That's wrong. People should not be denied the opportunity to live in public housing in their own neighborhood because of their race."

Because Boston has a so-called strong mayor form of government, it might be tempting to dismiss Kelly's views. The council, after all, is a legislative body with little in the way of statutory power. Councilors, for example, may reject but cannot propose municipal spending measures. And the mayor is legally authorized to conduct most of the city's day-to-day business through his department heads, without City Council consent.

But Kelly has grown adept at using the council as the proverbial bully pulpit. And his record of providing constituent services -- to residents in Chinatown and the South End as well as those in South Boston -- has allowed him to build an impressive base of political support. Moreover, Kelly's close ties to Menino and to Senate president Bulger usually mean that his opinions, at the very least, will be heard.

According to Kelly, his views on race amount to support for choice, for equal rights and equal opportunities for residents of every neighborhood in the city, whatever their race. And numerous minority residents in Kelly's district -- Asians in Chinatown, blacks and Hispanics in the South End -- will back him up on that. "I've never heard of him discriminating in any way against anyone when it comes to providing city services," says Byron Rushing, a black state representative from the South End. "He's a very good district city councilor."

Kelly's detractors, however, say that his views on race amount to a ''separate but equal" policy, the specific intent of which is to prevent blacks and other minorities from moving into South Boston. "Choice, for Jim Kelly," says one city official, "means keeping others out."

In South Boston, where the number of minority families living in three public housing projects has surged from a mere handful in 1988 to more than 800 today (about a third of the public apartments in the neighborhood), the debate over the right to live in public housing is played out daily -- often in crowded courtyards where racial tension routinely approaches the breaking point.

In the seven years since the US Department of Housing and Urban Development cited Boston for maintaining racially segregated public housing developments, the Boston Housing Authority has required prospective tenants to accept the first available public housing apartment, wherever it is located. To offset the effects of its previous policies, the agency also makes exceptions for those tenants who are willing to live in a project where their race does not predominate.

Kelly says he opposes the procedure because he believes that all low-income Boston residents should be able to live in a project of their choice and wait for an opening in that project while passing up other vacancies if that is their desire. But housing specialists say that, because minorities make up about 85 percent of the BHA's waiting list, it's only a matter of time before minorities dominate South Boston's projects. Against that backdrop, they add, Kelly's views merely serve to provide false hope to those who would keep South Boston white.

"For better or worse, the concept of ethnic enclaves is disappearing throughout this country," says one city official. "South Boston, without question, will change. It's changing right now. Jim is trying to hold back the inevitable tide."

Kelly agrees with the notion that he stands firmly between the changes sweeping South Boston's public housing projects and the remainder of his community. He would also agree that he's doing what he can, as City Council president, to halt the changes overtaking the rest of Boston. But he'd be the last to say that change is inevitable. "The people of South Boston are not moving out," he says. "We're staying right where we are."

Posted by aryan at 1:52 PM | Comments (0)

The prepared remarks of Democratic Senator Edward M. Kennedy's speech today on Iraq at the National Press Club

"Thank you, President Jonathan Salant, for that generous introduction. It’s an honor for me to be here at the National Press Club.

"I had hoped to speak today about health care and my agenda as Chairman of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. I will speak to those concerns on another day soon, but an issue of grave importance requires our immediate action.

"President Bush will address the nation tomorrow about his decision to send tens of thousands of additional American troops to the war in Iraq. That war is the overarching issue of our time, and American lives, American values and America’s role in the world are all at stake.

"If ordered into battle, we know our brave men and women will serve us with pride and valor, just as they have throughout this troubling war. All Americans will support them fully, as will those of us in Congress. We will always support our troops in harm’s way.

"It’s a special honor to have here with us today a person who symbolizes that commitment – Brian Hart of Bedford, Massachusetts. His presence reminds us who is being called to sacrifice and service – husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors.

"Brian Hart’s son John, at the age of 20, gave his life in Iraq in 2003, defending his patrol from ambush. Brian and his wife Alma turned that enormous personal tragedy into a remarkable force for change.

"He’s worked skillfully and tirelessly ever since to ensure that our soldiers have better equipment to protect them. Today and every day, I salute his patriotism and his own dedicated service to our country – Brian Hart.

"As the election in November made clear, the vast majority of Americans oppose the war in Iraq, and an even greater number oppose sending even more troops to Iraq today.

"Families like the Harts and all Americans deserve a voice in that profound decision. Our Constitution gives them that right. The President is Commander-in-Chief, but in our democracy he is still accountable to the people. Our system of checks and balances gives Congress – as the elected representatives of the people – a central role in decisions on war and peace.

"Today, therefore, I am introducing legislation to reclaim the rightful role of Congress and the people’s right to a full voice in the President’s plan to send more troops to Iraq. Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts will introduce similar legislation in the House of Representatives. Our bill will say that no additional troops can be sent and no additional dollars can be spent on such an escalation, unless and until Congress approves the President’s plan.

"Our proposal is a straightforward exercise of the power granted to Congress by Article I, section 8 of the Constitution. There can be no doubt that the Constitution gives Congress the authority to decide whether to fund military action. And Congress can demand a justification from the President for such action before it appropriates the funds to carry it out.

"This bill will give all Americans – from Maine to Florida to California to Alaska and Hawaii – an opportunity to hold the President accountable for his actions. The President’s speech must be the beginning – not the end – of a new national discussion of our policy in Iraq. Congress must have a genuine debate over the wisdom of the President’s plan. Let us hear the arguments for it and against it. Then let us vote on it in the light of day. Let the American people hear – yes or no – where their elected representatives stand on one of the greatest challenges of our time.

"Until now, a rubber stamp Republican Congress has refused to hold the White House accountable on Iraq. But the November election has dramatically changed all that.

"Over the past two years, Democrats reached for their roots as true members of our Party. We listened to the hopes and dreams of everyday Americans. We rejected the politics of fear and division. We embraced a vision of hope and shared purpose. And the American people voted for change.

"We campaigned as Democrats in 2006. And we must govern as Democrats in 2007. We have the solemn obligation now to show the American people that we heard their voices. We will stand with them in meeting the extraordinary challenges of our day – not with pale actions, timid gestures, and empty rhetoric, but with bold vision, clear action, and high ideals that match the hopes and dreams of the American people. That is our duty as Democrats and as Americans on the war in Iraq.

"The American people sent a clear message in November that we must change course in Iraq and begin to withdraw our troops, not escalate their presence. The way to start is by acting on the President’s new plan. An escalation, whether it is called a surge or any other name, is still an escalation, and I believe it would be an immense new mistake. It would compound the original misguided decision to invade Iraq. We cannot simply speak out against an escalation of troops in Iraq. We must act to prevent it.

"Our history makes clear that a new escalation in our forces will not advance our national security. It will not move Iraq toward self-government, and it will needlessly endanger our troops by injecting more of them into the middle of a civil war.

"Some will disagree. Listen to this comment from a high-ranking American official: 'It became clear that if we were prepared to stay the course, we could help to lay the cornerstone for a diverse and independent Asia…If we faltered, the forces of chaos would scent victory and decades of strife and aggression would stretch endlessly before us. The choice was clear. We would stay the course. And we shall stay the course.'

"That is not President Bush speaking. It is President Lyndon Johnson, forty years ago, ordering a hundred thousand more American soldiers to Vietnam.

"Here is another quotation. 'The big problem is to get territory and to keep it. You can get it today and it will be gone next week. That is the problem. You have to have enough people to clear it…and enough people to preserve what you have done.'

"That is not President Bush on the need for more forces in Iraq. It is President Johnson in 1966 as he doubled our military presence in Vietnam.

"Those comparisons from history resonate painfully in today’s debate on Iraq. In Vietnam, the White House grew increasingly obsessed with victory, and increasingly divorced from the will of the people and any rational policy. The Department of Defense kept assuring us that each new escalation in Vietnam would be the last. Instead, each one led only to the next.

"Finally, in 1968, in large part because of the war, Democrats lost the White House. Richard Nixon was elected President after telling the American people that he had a secret plan to end the war. We all know what happened, though. As President, he escalated the war into Cambodia and Laos, and it went on for six more years.

"There was no military solution to that war. But we kept trying to find one anyway. In the end, 58,000 Americans died in the search for it.

"Echoes of that disaster are all around us today. Iraq is George Bush’s Vietnam.

"As with Vietnam, the only rational solution to the crisis is political, not military. Injecting more troops into a civil war is not the answer. Our men and women in uniform cannot force the Iraqi people to reconcile their differences.

"The open-ended commitment of our military forces continues to enable the Iraqis to avoid taking responsibility for their own future. Tens of thousands of additional American troops will only make the Iraqis more resentful of America’s occupation. It will also make the Iraqi government even more dependent on America, not less.

"General Abizaid made this point plainly when he told the Senate Armed Services Committee last November, “I believe that more American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more and from taking more responsibility for their own future.”

"General Abizaid was unequivocal that increasing our troop commitment is not the answer.

"He said, 'I’ve met with every divisional commander – General Casey, the corps commander, General Dempsey – we all talked together.' And I said, 'in your professional opinion, if we were to bring in more American troops now, does it add considerably to our ability to achieve success in Iraq?' And they all said 'no.' That was General Abizaid.

"General Casey reiterated this view just two weeks ago. He said, 'The longer that U.S. forces continue to bear the main burden of Iraq’s security, it lengthens the time that the government of Iraq has to make the hard decisions about reconciliation and dealing with the militias… They can continue to blame us for all of Iraq's problems, which are, at base, their problems.'

"One of our great military commanders, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, put it this way last month: 'I am not persuaded that another surge of troops into Baghdad for the purpose of suppressing this communitarian violence, this civil war, will work.'

"Such an escalation would be a policy of desperation built on denial and fantasy. It is 'stay the course' under another name. It will not resolve the Iraq war, but it will exact a fearsome new toll in American lives and further weaken our nation. It will make America more hated in the world, and make the war on terrorism even harder to win.

"For the sake of our men and women in uniform in Iraq, the President should have heeded these generals, not discarded them and gone shopping for advice that matches his own wishful, flawed thinking. Cooking the intelligence is how we got into this war. Ignoring the sound counsel of our military is no way to end it.

"The American people are also well aware that the military action authorized by Congress in 2002 was for a very different war than we face today. Our troops are now caught in the crossfire of a civil war – a role that Congress has not approved and that the American people rejected in November.

"Many of us felt the authorization to go to war was a grave mistake at the time.

"I've said that my vote against the war in Iraq is the best vote I've cast in my 44 years in the United States Senate. But no matter what any of us thought then, the Iraq War resolution is obviously obsolete today.

"It authorized a war to destroy weapons of mass destruction. But there were no WMDs to destroy. It authorized a war with Saddam Hussein. But today, Saddam is no more. It authorized a war because Saddam was allied with al Qaeda. But there was no alliance.

"The mission of our armed forces today in Iraq bears no resemblance whatever to the mission authorized by Congress. President Bush should not be permitted to escalate the war further, and send an even larger number of our troops into harm’s way, without a clear and specific new authorization from Congress.

"In everybody's reality except the Administration’s, Iraq is now in the middle of a civil war.

"Sectarian violence is on the rise. Militias continue to commit unspeakable acts of violence and torture. Ethnic cleansing is a fact of daily life. Millions of Iraqis are fleeing the violence and leaving their country.

"No one can seriously deny that this civil war is radically different from the mission Congress voted for in 2002. Why should even more of our troops be sent to Iraq in the middle of this civil war?

"The President may deny the plain truth. But the truth speaks loudly and tragically. Congress must no longer follow him deeper into the quagmire in Iraq.

"I recognize the President’s almost certain determination to persist in his failed course. It appears that he will not listen to the views of Congress or of the American people.

"It is disappointing that he seems ready – even eager – to reject the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. Instead of heeding the growing call for genuine change, he has used the time since that report to root out dissent in his own Administration and in our armed forces.

"This Congress cannot escape history or its own duty. If we do not learn from the mistakes of the past, we are condemned to repeat them. We must act, and act now, before the President sends more troops to Iraq, or else it will be too late.

"The legislation that we will introduce today is brief but essential. It requires the President to obtain approval from Congress before he sends even more American soldiers to Iraq. And it prohibits the President from spending taxpayer dollars on such an escalation unless Congress approves it.

"Our proposal will not diminish our support for the forces we already have in Iraq. We will continue to do everything we can to make sure they have all the support they truly need. Even more important, we will continue to do all we can to bring them safely home. The best immediate way to support our troops is by refusing to inject more and more of them into the cauldron of a civil war that can be resolved only by the people and government of Iraq.

"I will seek a Senate vote on this proposal at the earliest realistic date. I hope that instead of escalation without end and without authorization, the President will follow through on his words last week, when he said, 'We now have the opportunity to build a bipartisan consensus' on Iraq. If he truly means those words, he will ask Congress for our approval.

"The heavy price of our flawed decisions a generation ago is memorialized on sacred ground not far from here. On a somber walk through the Vietnam Memorial, we are moved by the painful, powerful eloquence of its enduring tribute to the tens of thousands who were lost in that tragic war that America never should have fought. Our fingers can gently trace the names etched into the stark black granite face of the memorial.

"We wonder what might have been, if America had faced up honestly to its failed decisions before it was too late.

"I often pause as well at Section 60 in Arlington National Cemetery. Those from Massachusetts who have fallen in Iraq lie there now in quiet dignity. Each time, I am struck by the heavy price of the war in their young lives cut so sadly short.

"The casualties are high. The war is long. The time is late. But as Tennyson said, 'Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.'

"Those words speak clearly to all of us today. And we are inspired anew to wage this battle by the concluding line of that great poem: 'To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.'

"Thank you very much."

Posted by aryan at 1:11 PM | Comments (0)

Southie residents recall Kelly as a 'nice guy' who fought 'forced' busing

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The South Boston neighborhood where James M. Kelly lived was quiet today, but as residents in City Point went about their everyday chores ,they stopped to talk about the former seven-term City Council President who died early this morning.

"He was a very nice guy," said Nancy Kunian, walking on N Street this morning and speaking in the accent of her native Armenia. "Anybody who tried to get help, he would try to help."

JP Hynes, 54, had known Kelly most of his life. He recalled the strong stand Kelly took on what he described as the "forced integration" of the city's school system in the 1970s. In more recent years, Kelly had been an advocate for long-time "Southie" residents as the neighborhood became one of the city's more expensive areas. Referring to the influx of young professionals into the neighborhood, Hynes said that Southie is unlikely to ever again see a politician with Kelly's grit and devotion to his hometown.

"He fought the good fight and unfortunately there will not be another Jimmy Kelly in this neighborhood because the neighborhood is not what it was once," said Hynes, who was out walking his dog "Patches."

Horace and Antonina Cotugno had been Kelly's neighbors for years. "He saw that everything was straight for Southie," said Horace. "He was a good guy."

"God bless his soul," said Antonina Cotugno.

Michael Graney moved to south Boston from the south shore when he retired about five years ago. He has met Kelly at community events since then.

"He's not afraid to voice his point of view even though it might not be popular with some outsiders," said Graney. "He was very sincere in his representation."

Posted by aryan at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)

Menino: Kelly caused 'some trouble,' but nobody worked harder

(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

Mayor Thomas M. Menino spoke to reporters today about the death of long-time City Councilman James M. Kelly at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

A somber and reserved Mayor Thomas M. Menino recalled James M. Kelly today as a devoted public servant whose dedication to the city demanded respect -- even if people disagreed with his politics.

"I've lost my friend. We are going to miss him in Boston," Menino told about a dozen reporters in the lobby of the Strand Theater in Dorchester, where he is scheduled to give his State of the City address this evening.

"He caused some trouble a lot of times," Menino continued, "But you couldn't find a harder working guy than Jimmy Kelly."

The mayor waxed for about 15 minutes about how he and Kelly were two of the only people he knew that were so dedicated to their constituents that they would go to community meetings at 8 a.m. on Saturdays. He talked about how Kelly refused to vote for any school budget up until three years ago as a lingering protest against the court-mandated busing of the 1970s.

Menino said he and Kelly may have had philosophical differences, but he didn't think Jimmy Kelly was racist, as some of the late city councilor's critics have long charged. There was, however, one thing people could always count on from the seven-term City Council President.

"You always knew where Jimmy Kelly stood," Menino said.

Posted by aryan at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)

'Small explosion' injures two at vocational high school in Easton

By Dan Muse, Globe Correspondent

One student and one adult suffered minor injuries after a "small explosion" this morning at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School in Easton, a fire official said.

The student and adult were taken to Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, according to Easton Fire Captain William Downey.

The 9:40 a.m. explosion may have been touched off by a plumber's torch, said Downey, who added that the accident was still under investigation.

The incident occurred in the basement of a new building under construction at the high school. Several windows and a door were destroyed in the building, but there was no fire, Downey said

Posted by aryan at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)

Broadway Bridge dedication to Kelly postponed

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent, and Matt Viser, Globe Staff

A ceremony on Thursday to rename the Broadway Bridge in honor of long-time City Councilor James M. Kelly has been postponed because of his death, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said this morning. A new time and date for the dedication has not been scheduled.

In the last few days before his death, the streets of South Boston were papered with pamphlets about the tribute to the seven-term City Council President.

"Come honor Jim Kelly as we dedicate the Broadway Bridge as the James M. Kelly Bridge," said the note, stuffed in mailboxes from West Broadway to L Street.

The words on the flyer were superimposed on top of a light-green image of a "Re-Elect Jim Kelly" bumper sticker, a ubiquitous political ad in South Boston found on cars and lampposts throughout the neighborhood. Each mention of city councilor’s name is also printed in green. In the upper left corner, is a picture of Kelly.

The Broadway Bridge, which crosses Fort Point Channel, is the main link that between the peninsula known as "Southie" and the rest of the city of Boston.

Posted by aryan at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

Statements of condolence after James M. Kelly's death

Statement of James M. Kelly, Jr.:

"My father, Councilor James M. Kelly, passed away at 4:19 a.m. today. He was 66. He died after a lengthy battle with colon cancer.

"My father had been under hospice care at his home for the last 5 days. He was surrounded by his family and his close friends.

"Details of services will be announced when completed. Arrangements will be handled by the O’Brien Funeral Home in South Boston.

As he struggled with this disease the last few years, my father was enormously grateful for the outpouring of love and affection from his friends and neighbors. Our family was comforted by the obvious joy these messages brought to our ailing father.

"My father gave his life to public service. He and our whole family were deeply thankful for the countless expressions of prayer and support that we received.

"And now, during this difficult time we ask that our privacy be respected."

Statement of Boston City Council President Maureen E. Feeney:

"He was a tireless advocate for his district, a loyal and kindhearted friend, and a true son of South Boston. He fought this last battle with the same conviction and resolve that we saw every day on the Council.

"Jimmy was a friend and a mentor to me and I will miss him dearly. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family."

Statement of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino:

"My thoughts and prayers go out at this time to the family and friends of Councilor James Kelly.

"Councilor Kelly served the neighborhoods and the City of Boston for over 20 years and his experience and the dedication will be missed within City Hall.

"A lifelong resident of South Boston, his commitment and loyalty to the people he served was obvious during the years as City Councilor.

"He was a true gentlemen, a man of his word whose convictions always came from the heart.

"Jimmy Kelly was a friend of mine and will be greatly missed by all."

Statement of Raymond L. Flynn, former Mayor of Boston and U.S. Ambassador:

"Jim Kelly and I have known each other our entire lives. We went to school together. We played football together at Southie High.

"We worked together for better neighborhoods and yes, we often strongly disagreed on issues. But he was my friend and we shared family events, weddings and graduations together. Jimmy gave it his all.

"From his union advocacy, his staunch conservative principles, to his fierce family loyalty, Jim Kelly was one of a kind. He will be missed."

Statement of Boston City Councilor Michael F. Flaherty:

"Jim's loyalty and commitment to family, friends, and his beloved South Boston is unmatched. You cannot quantify how many people and families Jimmy Kelly helped over the years."

Statement of state Senate President Robert E. Travaglini:

"Jimmy Kelly was a personal friend and someone who my family and I cared about deeply. His loyalty to his community, the depth of his convictions and his numerous political achievements will forever serve as the measure of a successful public servant."

Statement of state Senator Jack Hart:

"Jim Kelly has been a mentor and role model for me in 2 ways; he always demonstrated a tireless work ethic and always stood up for what he believed in.

"The City of Boston and his hometown of South Boston have lost a fine public servant. His distinctive voice will be missed by the elderly, the disenfranchised, the working class, veterans, union members and all the people in his district. They have lost a true hero. I will miss him dearly and offer my thoughts and prayers to his family."

Statement of Governor Deval Patrick:

"On this sad day my thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Jimmy Kelly. He was a passionate advocate for his beloved neighborhood and constituents. His dedication to public service was unquestioned. By his example, he had a lot to teach us all."

Posted by aryan at 9:21 AM | Comments (0)

James M. Kelly, long-time city councilor and South Boston icon, dies at 66

(AP File photo)

James M. Kelly, shown above on Dec. 9, 1975, discussing court-ordered busing, died this morning after a long fight with brain cancer.

By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

James M. Kelly, the powerful city councilor from South Boston who was considered a hero by his supporters as he battled court-ordered busing but a symbol of intolerance by others, died today at 4:19 a.m. after a long battle with cancer. He was 66.

Mr. Kelly, a polarizing symbol of South Boston's defiant resistance to change over the last quarter-century who served seven terms as City Council President, had a cancerous mass removed from his brain in November 2005. In 2003, a 2-inch tumor was removed from his colon.

Kelly's son, James M. Kelly Jr., said his father died surrounded by family and close friends after five days of hospice care. He last attended a city council meeting on Dec. 6, 2006.

"As he struggled with this disease for the last few years, my father was enormously grateful for the outpouring of love and affection from his friends and neighbors," James M. Kelly Jr. said in a statement. "My father gave his life to public service. He and our whole family were deeply thankful for the countless expressions of prayer and support that we received.

Mayor Thomas Menino said in a statement: "My thoughts and prayers at this time go out to the family and friends of councilor James Kelly. He was a true gentlemen, a man of his word whose convictions always came from the heart. Jimmy Kelly was a friend of mine and will be greatly missed by all."

Mr. Kelly used his 23 years on the City Council, including an unprecedented seven consecutive terms as president, as a bully pulpit from which he fought integration of South Boston's public housing, battled the inclusion of gay and lesbian marchers in the St. Patrick's Day parade, and negotiated a controversial financial bonanza for the neighborhood in exchange for waterfront development.

A lifelong resident of South Boston, Mr. Kelly earned a reputation among friend and foe alike as doggedly attentive to constituent services, often personally responding to complaints about minor nuisances such as potholes, abandoned cars, and rowdy teenagers.

But Mr. Kelly was better known outside his district as an unapologetic champion for a white constituency that he considered embattled and belittled by a liberal elite, a view that colored his public persona since the violent anti-busing demonstrations that rocked South Boston in the mid-1970s.

During much of his political career, Mr. Kelly railed against affirmative-action programs and the mandated integration of schools and housing as government discrimination against whites. He also said that an influx of minority residents into South Boston would lead to an increase in crime.

To many, Mr. Kelly became the most-visible face of post-busing South Boston, a symbol of what much of the public perceived as an angry, isolated enclave that bitterly resisted change. But within the neighborhood, Mr. Kelly continued to be idolized by many of the long-time, Irish-American families that gave South Boston a national reputation for tough-minded, community-oriented, politically savvy cohesion.

In the end, Mr. Kelly proved to be a tenacious political survivor, holding the council presidency from 1994 to 2000 and wielding influence afterward even as the city's demographics changed, the council became more diverse, and his district became more gentrified.

Mr. Kelly was born before the United States entered World War II to a father who worked as a laborer for the Boston Housing Authority and a mother who ironed for a laundry service. Like many of his generation in South Boston, Mr. Kelly had a passion for sports and played fullback and linebacker for South Boston High School.

After graduating from high school in 1958, Mr. Kelly married in 1959 and worked as a sheet-metal apprentice, eventually joining Local 7 and helping construct signs that appeared on buildings around the city. He had three children. Off the job, Mr. Kelly pursued a fast, hard-drinking life in which he fraternized with members of the notorious Mullins Gang from South Boston and often carried a gun.

The drinking took a terrible toll on his personal life, Mr. Kelly once recalled. In March 1971, after a week-long binge following St. Patrick's Day, he entered Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1974, divorced and disabled by an industrial accident the previous year that had severed the tendons in his right hand, Mr. Kelly found an all-consuming focus in the federal order to integrate the Boston schools. A tough, stocky man with a penchant for brown leather jackets, Mr. Kelly clashed with police sent to South Boston to protect black students from white protesters, and also with black demonstrators at nearby Carson Beach.

Mr. Kelly first tested the political waters in 1981, when he ran for City Council, whose nine members were selected in citywide voting. Polls showed Mr. Kelly to be among the top nine in a crowded field of 40 candidates until, late in the campaign, a television station broadcast a report on his criminal record. Mr. Kelly finished 10th, but the seeds of his future success were apparent when he outpolled Raymond L. Flynn, the successful mayoral candidate, in their native South Boston.

In 1983, the City Council expanded to 13 members and offered neighborhoods more clout with nine seats dedicated to individual districts. Mr. Kelly won the District 2 seat -- which also included Chinatown, Bay Village, much of the South End and a slice of Dorchester -- and was never seriously threatened afterward. During that first successful campaign, Mr. Kelly acknowledged that "we have legitimate concerns about a large influx of blacks moving to South Boston."

Mr. Kelly said at the time that those "concerns" revolved around fears of increased crime. Later, in 1988, his legal challenge to the federally mandated integration of public housing in South Boston was grounded in what he described as reverse discrimination against the white residents of his district, who previously had received preference for vacancies in their neighborhood.

Mr. Kelly repeatedly insisted that his motives were misunderstood, that he was not a bigot, and that he supported equal opportunity for all races. But he nearly came to blows with City Councilor Charles C. Yancey, a black representative for Mattapan and North Dorchester, after an expletive-laden shouting match in 1991. However, in 2001, Mr. Kelly engineered Yancey's election as council president when he realized he could not win an eighth term.

The criticism from outside South Boston never seemed to bother Mr. Kelly, who routinely spent more hours at his office than other councilors and made constituent service his calling card. He also became close to another district councilor, Thomas M. Menino of Hyde Park, and supported Menino's election as council president in 1993. That move proved to be a launching pad for Menino, who automatically became acting mayor that year when Flynn was appointed ambassador to the Vatican.

Mr. Kelly worked closely with his friend, but was not afraid to buck the mayor when South Boston's interests diverged from those of the entire city. Mr. Kelly helped frustrate plans to move the New England Patriots to South Boston, opposed the relocation of the Boston Red Sox there, and leveraged an unprecedented financial package for the neighborhood in 1998 in exchange for approval for the mammoth waterfront development project.

The deal received intense criticism from other neighborhoods and politicians, and Mr. Kelly and other South Boston politicians were pressured to accept far less generous benefits.

"We worked together for better neighborhoods and yes we often strongly disagreed on issues. But he was my friend," Former Mayor Raymond L. Flynn said in a statement. "Jim Kelly was one of a kind. He will be missed."

Posted by aryan at 8:16 AM | Comments (0)

January 8, 2007

Weld bonds with Romney

By Brian C. Mooney, GLOBE STAFF

Former Massachusetts governor William F. Weld has emerged as a major backer of Mitt Romney, despite a long friendship with Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who is a potential Romney rival in the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

On social issues, Weld is also closer philosophically to the moderate Giuliani than he is to Romney, who has tacked to the right and strongly opposes abortion rights and gay marriage.

Weld, now a partner in the New York office of the McDermott Will & Emery law firm, was among a small army of fund-raisers in Boston Monday making phone calls to potential donors to Romney’s presidential exploratory committee. Weld estimated he raised about $50,000 from the campaign’s headquarters on the North End waterfront.

Weld is cochairman of Romney’s campaign in New York state. Last month, he was host of an event at the New York Athletic Club that introduced Romney to a large group of prominent New York Republicans.

Weld said Giuliani never formally asked him to back him if he ran for the White House.

"I don’t think he’d gotten to that point until the last month or so, and by then, I was with Romney." Weld said. Giuliani established his presidential exploratory committee in late November.

"It’s not that I don’t think Rudy Giuliani and [Arizona Senator] John McCain are both great Americans; I do," said Weld, referring to other top-tier figures mentioned in the GOP race. "It’s just that I think Mitt Romney is going to be and should be the next president of the United States."

Political allegiances aside, Weld and Giuliani remain "very friendly," Weld said Monday. "I think if you asked him, he’d say the same."

Attempts to reach Sunny Mindel, a spokeswoman for Giuliani, were unsuccessful.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:39 PM | Comments (0)

Mayor to make stand at Strand

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino is taking his State of the City address to the neighborhoods for the first time in a decade, delivering his annual keynote on his administration’s goals Tuesday night from the stage of Dorchester’s Strand Theatre.

Menino is looking to return to the urban mechanic mantra that has been at the heart of his popularity, stressing fundamentals of city parks, paved roads, and trash pickup, and making pledges on fighting crime, which has rocketed in recent years. The mayor will also sound themes urging self-help in communities across the city.

"He will be calling on the city as a whole to be better at helping others," said Dot Joyce, his press secretary, who said the theme of the speech is "City and neighborhoods, shared responsibility."

"We need to create a city that has hope, not fear," she said, "and one where people can trust one another, and city officials."

Menino also is expected to announce a major investment in revitalizing the Strand, seen as a sanctuary for black culture in a sometimes bleak part of the city in Uphams Corner.

Menino, who has been working with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York on forming Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is expected to refer to recent efforts to stop gun violence, along with the hiring of a new police commissioner, Edward F. Davis. He will highlight improvements in education, including winning the top urban school prize in the nation after four years as a runner-up, and his hiring of a new school superintendent, Manuel J. Rivera, who will take the helm in July.

This year’s speech finds Menino at a tricky time in his mayoral career -- in the midst of a fourth term when critics are on the lookout for signs of stagnation and many are wondering whether he will run for a fifth term.

Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)

Former league president charged with stealing

By Jonathan Saltzman, GLOBE STAFF

CAMBRIDGE -- The former president of the Tewksbury Youth Baseball League has been charged with stealing more than $423,000 from the program over a four-year period, writing hundreds of checks to himself and an employee at his law office and using money to pay for a family trip and hunting equipment, prosecutors said.

Retired Tewksbury police officer Wilfred Daley, 58, also is accused of wiring several thousand dollars in league funds to women at casinos in Las Vegas and Connecticut, said a case summary released today by prosecutors after his arraignment in Middlesex Superior Court.

"We really trusted this guy," said Frank Flanagan, who has known Daley for more than a decade and took over as league president last year as police investigated the alleged misappropriations. "He was around forever. I don’t know what happened."

Wearing an open trench coat and standing near his lawyer, the gray-haired Daley pleaded not guilty today to two counts of larceny over $500.

Superior Court Judge Wendie I. Gershengorn set bail at $5,000, and a court officer handcuffed Daley took him into custody. Daley’s lawyer, Ray Ilg, said he expected his client -- whose Andover house was foreclosed on recently and who now lives in Seabrook, N.H. -- to post bail later in the evening.

Ilg declined to comment except to say that Daley denies the allegations.

"We will try this case in the court, not in the press," he said.

Assistant District Attorney John Verner told the judge that prosecutors were "certainly looking for prison time" for Daley if he is convicted.

Flanagan, who was vice president of the league under Daley, said he and other directors of the league grew concerned in recent years about the program’s finances. When they asked to review the books at league meetings, he explained, Daley always said his wife, Susan Daley, had them and would show up any minute. But she never did.

Tewksbury police faced a significant obstacle in the investigation because Daley’s wife was league treasurer, and both she and her husband have said they kept no financial records, prosecutors said. She has not been charged.

The matter came to the attention of Town Manager David G. Cressman in late 2005 when a vendor for the league from Billerica threatened to put a lien on town property unless the league paid him thousands of dollars he was owed, Cressman said today.

The town manager contacted police Lieutenant Dennis Peterson, who spoke with an equipment vendor who allegedly was owed $40,000 and a soft drink supplier who allegedly was owed $4,000.

An eight-month investigation by Tewskbury police and the district attorney’s Special Investigations Division determined that Daley stole $423,000 from the league from 2002 to early 2006, prosecutors said. Daley wrote more than 100 checks totaling about $137,000 to himself from the league’s account.

He also wrote more than 175 checks totaling about $241,000 from the league’s account to Karen Pariseau, who told a grand jury and investigators that she sometimes worked for Daley at his law office, according to the case summary. She could not be reached for comment.

Daley also used a league ATM card to withdraw and spend tens of thousands of dollars, prosecutors said. The investigation also found that Daley used the debit card for a variety of personal expenses, including a $1,215-trip for his wife and two children to Las Vegas and the purchase of two Browning rifles as well as items at the Coach store in Kittery, Maine, said prosecutors.

He also allegedly wired thousands of dollars via Western Union to three different women at casinos and resorts in Nevada, Connecticut and South Carolina.

Flanagan said he was among several league officials whom the town ordered to stay away from league facilities last February as police began investigating the case. He said he immediately called Daley.

"I called him up at the house and said, 'What the heck is going on here?'" Flanagan recalled. "He said, 'I don’t know,' and hung up." Flanagan said that was the last time he spoke with Daley.

Daley was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1992, but the state Board of Bar Overseers suspended his license in June, according to the board’s website. Verner, the prosecutor, said the suspension stems from an unrelated matter.

Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:00 PM | Comments (0)

Three burned in Dorchester apartment blaze

By David Abel and Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

Homicide and arson investigators tonight are probing a Dorchester apartment fire that left three Vietnamese immigrants -- including a 1-year-old girl -- with burns, fire and police officials said.

The fire ripped through the first-floor apartment at 47 Dix Street, leaving an elderly woman with about 20 percent of her body covered with burns, while the man and child suffered "significant" burns, said Boston Fire Acting District Chief Paul Carey. Officials did not release the names of the victims.

The man and girl were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital's burn unit, where they were listed last night in critical condition. The woman was transported to the Brigham and Women's Hospital for treatment.

Boston firefighters received a 911 call at 5:46 p.m. The fire began at the rear of the apartment in a kitchen, said Carey, who estimated the damage at $10,000. He said smoke detectors in the apartment appeared to be working.

Fire officials characterized the blaze as a small fire, saying it was extinguished in less than an hour. Singed clothing last night was clumped in front of the apartment's entrance.

The second- and third-story apartments in the triple-decker were undamaged.

Posted by srhee at 8:36 PM | Comments (0)

Former Dracut town treasurer pleads not guilty to embezzlement

By Globe Staff

The former treasurer for the town of Dracut pleaded not guilty today to charges that he embezzled more than $60,000.

James Douksewicz, 57, is accused of stealing $64,000 from the Dracut Sewer Department from February 2004 to May 2005.

According to an indictment issued in December, Douksewicz collected cash for sewer bills. Authorities allege that Douksewicz would destroy the original receipt given to customer, create a new one for a lesser amount, and pocket the difference.

He appeared today in Middlesex Superior Court before Judge Wendie Gershengorn.

Douksewicz was released on personal recognizance and ordered to check in with probation once per week. He is scheduled to appear again in court on Feb. 1.

Posted by aryan at 4:43 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick to create state volunteer corps

By Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick announced today the creation of a state service corps with a goal of building a network of up to 1,000 volunteers over the next five years to provide community service in cities and towns across Massachusetts.

With echoes of President John F. Kennedy's Peace Corps, the Commonwealth Corps would require members to dedicate at least one year of service to a nonprofit organization, civic initiative, or public entity. Corps members would be at least 18 years or older and range from high school-age students, to mid-career workers, to retirees.

"The mission of Commonwealth Corps is to draw together people of all ages and backgrounds to help meet human need and rebuild communities across Massachusetts," Patrick said in a statement. "By mentoring, staffing after school programs or shelters, helping to clean up parks and neighborhoods, members can help transform communities and inspire others to take action to promote the common good."

Patrick, whose campaign placed a heavy emphasis on civic engagement, said he would file legislation to create the volunteer corps, building on work done by Democratic state Senator Marc Pacheco of Taunton.

"Throughout the state, volunteers work tirelessly to meet educational, environmental, public safety, and human service needs in the state," said Pacheco in a statement. "But there is so much more that we could be doing. I commend the Governor for taking the initiative to strengthen citizen service throughout the Commonwealth."

In its first year, the Commonwealth Corps would involve 250 people, with a goal of expanding to 1,000 members over the next five years, according to a release issued by the Patrick administration. The Massachusetts Service Alliance would be designated as the administrator of the Commonwealth Corps.

The legislation would also create the Commonwealth Student Corps, a pilot program designed to expand service opportunities for students. The initiative would be initially administered by three public colleges or universities and seek to connect students with service opportunities in their areas of study.

Patrick's plan would also expand the State Employee Responding as Volunteers, under which state employees who have worked for at least three months are eligible to volunteer for one day of service per month as tutors.

Posted by aryan at 4:00 PM | Comments (0)

Police: Springfield man set fire to house to kill woman

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

A Springfield man lit a woman's house on fire in an attempt to kill her, authorities said.

The woman survived, but she suffered burns to 90 percent of her body and was in critical condition today at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The man, Lastarande Bell, 31, also suffered minor burns to his hands after he allegedly ignited the house Sunday while the woman slept inside.

The woman, whose name was not released, had a restraining order against Bell, police said.

When released from Mass. General, Bell will be arrested and charged with attempted murder and arson, police said.

Posted by aryan at 3:11 PM | Comments (0)

Exonerated murder suspects describe decades of pain in prison

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Joseph Salvati, pictured above with his wife Marie, described today in federal court the pain of spending decades in prison for a murder he did not commit.

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

In an emotional day in federal court, Peter Limone and Joseph Salvati described how they spent decades in prison after being wrongfully convicted of a 1965 gangland murder, missing out on family milestones as their young children grew into adults and had children of their own.

"The first couple of years were real rough," said Salvati, who was a 34-year-old father of four when he was arrested in 1967 on the word of mob hit man who had been recruited by the FBI as a government witness. "The kids were bothered on the street. The (prison) visits were hard. They'd have to leave and leave you behind."

But, Salvati said that neither he nor Marie, his wife of 53 years, ever gave up hope that he would be exonerated of the 1965 slaying in Chelsea of petty thief Edward "Teddy" Deegan. In 1997, then Governor William Weld commuted Salvati's life sentence, leading to his release after 29 years and five months in prison.

On Jan. 5, 2001, Limone was also set free and the convictions of both men were put aside after it was revealed that long secret FBI documents that indicated that Limone, Salvati and two other men who died in prison -- Henry Tameleo and Louis Greco -- had been framed by the hit man, Joseph "The Animal" Barboza.

Limone, Salvati, and the families of Greco and Tameleo are suing the government for $100 million for false imprisonment.

"I couldn't believe the FBI would do a thing like that, these are people you look up to," said Salvati, describing his reaction to the discovery that FBI never disclosed evidence that might have helped him prove his innocence at trial. "They didn't care 40 years ago, and they don't care now."

Limone, also a father of four who served 33 years in prison, finished testifying earlier today. He became emotional as he described the pain of being in prison when his parents and other relatives died. He said in 1999 his brother, Salvatore "came up to see me on a Tuesday, then the next day they called to tell me he was dead."

(David Kamerman/Globe Staff)

Peter Limone and his wife Olympia Limone exited federal court in South Boston last week after he testified in a civil lawsuit that charges the government with false imprisonment for sending him to prison for decades for a murder he did not commit.

Posted by aryan at 2:15 PM | Comments (0)

Romney fund-raising blitz nets more than $1 million

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Former Governor Mitt Romney (left) picked up more than $1 million during a national fundraiser today for his presidential run in 2008. Sharing a laugh beside him were his wife Ann Romney (center) and Missouri Governor Matt Blunt (right).

By Scott Helman, Globe Staff

Mitt Romney easily surpassed his goal for a day-long presidential fund-raiser early this afternoon as an aide announced at a star-studded phone-a-thon that the group had collected more than $1 million.

Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden made the announcement at about 12:30 p.m. at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, where 400 of the former governor’s biggest supporters from around the country are soliciting money in a cavernous, high-tech call center.

Earlier in the day, his campaign didn't directly answer a reporter's question about whether it had deliberately set a low target so the day would come off as an overwhelming success. Romney is hoping the one-day push will demonstrate his fund-raising prowess, and, thus, his viability as a 2008 Republican presidential candidate.

"You guys today are my hope, I gotta be honest with you," Romney told the roomful of friends, backers, family members, and former associates. "What you're doing is going to make all the difference in the world."

Romney's campaign has taken over the third floor of the convention center, packing the giant exhibition hall with tables topped with black phones and laptops. A quiet murmur fills the room. Hanging from the ceiling are four giant TV screens showing a photo slideshow with scenes from Romney's life.

At the lead table is former Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld, who alternates between making phone calls and checking his BlackBerry. Seated to his right is Missouri Governor Matt Blunt, a key political supporter of Romney's campaign. To Weld's left is Bob White, a former business colleague and one of Romney's closest friends, who, while on the phone, can be seen pacing and gesturing forcefully with his hands. His nametag says, simply, "Bob."

Also at the table is former Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey and her husband, Sean. By 11:30, Kerry Healey said, the couple had raised about $80,000. "We're going to do our best to make sure that Mitt has the best send-off possible," Healey said.

"His name is Mitt Romney," a man says loudly into a cell phone at a nearby table.

The highly choreographed event is designed to build momentum for Romney's nascent candidacy in the media and among his stable of supporters. When Romney and his wife, Ann, walked into the room this morning, the Supertramp anthem "Give a Little Bit" (as covered by the Goo Goo Dolls) was blaring through loudspeakers. Supporters gave them a rousing ovation.

Flanked by four of his sons, Romney said that he had asked every immediate family member over Christmas whether he should explore a presidential run, and that every one counseled him to do it. He said he was considering running out of a concern that his grandchildren might not know the American dream that he did.

"I'm convinced that with the right leadership and being honest with the American people, they will rise to the occasion ... to make America a more prosperous and safe place," Romney said.

Romney is trying to get as many people as possible today to pledge the same amount his sister did -- $2,100, the maximum donation permitted under federal campaign finance rules.

All the callers have tapped into an Internet-based database built by Romney's campaign that they're calling ComMitt, which allows fund-raisers to log donations and access information about Romney's positions on various issues.

"This is the most advanced technology ever employed in a fund-raising effort," Romney said in his opening remarks.

The idea, according to Spencer Zwick, Romney's finance director, is for his supporters to make calls from their own contact lists -- Christmas card lists, for example -- not to be handed a list of names to cold call.

"While you see every one person here at the phone what's behind them ... [are] legions of other people and other supporters that they've worked with," said Madden, Romney campaign spokesman. "There's kind of a viral organizing effect to an event like this."

Other supporters who are not here are also soliciting money for Romney today, according to his campaign. Zwick said the goal is to get both firm pledges and "hard money."

Ann Romney also spoke briefly this morning, telling the group how "touched" she and her husband were to see everyone here.

"Mitt and I walked in this room and were absolutely overwhelmed," she said.

One Romney's top advisers, Tom Rath, an influential Republican National Committee member from New Hampshire, told reporters this morning that any serious presidential candidate must raise between $60 million and $75 million in 2007. Much of that work has to be done in the first six to eight months, he said, before the candidate is too busy doing political events in key primary states to headline many fund-raisers.

Rath said the first indication of how Romney and the other candidates are faring in terms of fund-raising will be a Federal Election Commission campaign finance filing at the end of the first quarter, in late March.

"Early money is really the mother's milk to these things," Rath said. "It's never early enough and it's never enough."

Zwick added, "Money talks, but early money screams."

Romney's rivals for the Republican nomination at this point include Arizona Senator John McCain, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback.

Posted by aryan at 1:11 PM | Comments (0)

Police chief: Milford woman accused of dumping baby gave birth unexpectedly

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The Milford woman who allegedly dumped her newborn into the trash this weekend was not aware how far her pregnancy had advanced and gave birth unexpectedly, Milford Police Chief Thomas O'Loughlin said today.

"The labor was fairly rapid as she described it," O'Loughlin said in a telephone interview.

The 27-year-old woman and her long-time boyfriend were interviewed by police on Sunday. O'Loughlin said the woman told investigators that her boyfriend did not know she had given birth in the single-family home where the couple lives with their other child, who is six years old.

"He did not know she delivered," O'Loughlin said, adding that it appears the boyfriend did know his girlfriend was pregnant.

O'Loughlin said the Office of Chief Medical Examiner is scheduled to begin an autopsy later today and that he is hopeful investigators will get an indication whether the child was stillborn or alive at birth. That medical conclusion will decide what charges, if any, will be brought against the woman.

The possible charges that could be brought against the woman range form murder if the child was born alive, to improper disposal of human remains if the infant was stillborn, he said.

"We will wait for the ME to see what our next steps are," O'Loughlin said.

A spokesman for Worcester County District Joseph D. Early Jr. could not be reached for comment this morning.

Posted by aryan at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)

January 7, 2007

Parents surrender in death of newborn

By Michael Levenson and Connie Paige, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent

MILFORD -- Two people turned themselves in to police Sunday, saying they were the parents of a newborn boy whose body was found in the back of a garbage truck on Saturday.

The parents, whose names were not released, were not charged with any crimes, said Thomas O’Loughlin , chief of the Milford Police Department.

The woman, a 27-year-old from Milford, was moved to turn herself in by the kindness of a veteran detective who interviewed her at her home Sunday, O’Loughlin said. When the mother showed up at the town police station at noon, she had a "glazed look," and was "clearly remorseful," he said.

Paramedics treated her for "the natural conditions you would expect to find after someone’s given birth," O’Loughlin said.

"She’s OK physically," he said. "Emotionally, she’s going to need help."

O’Loughlin declined to say whether the baby was alive at birth, because investigators have yet to determine the cause and manner of the death. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has scheduled an autopsy for Monday.

If the baby was stillborn, a charge could be brought of disposal of a dead body. If he was alive at birth, charges could range from manslaughter to homicide, O’Loughlin said.

Two trash collectors discovered the body in the back of their truck as they collected garbage at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday on Purchase Street, a busy route that passes from Hopkinton to Milford near exits to Interstate 495.

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com. Christine McConville of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)

Clergy abuse victims call for reform

By Christine McConville, Globe Staff

About 60 people, most alleged victims of clergy sex abuse, unveiled a bill Sunday designed to provide relief for victims of childhood sexual abuse, while making abusers more accountable and letting the public know how pervasive this abuse is.

After a solemn midday march Sunday from the Archdiocese of Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross to the front doors of a nearby law school, they outlined a plan to more fully address what some called a "silent, violent epidemic."

"All of us can’t fix what happened to us, but we universally want to protect future generations from going through this," Ann Hagan Webb of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests told a cheering crowd in Boston’s Chinatown after the legislative package was detailed.

Jetta Bernier, cochairwoman of the Coalition to Reform Sexual Abuse Laws, said the Comprehensive Protection from Childhood Sexual Abuse Act of 2007 aims to lay the groundwork for future reforms.

The group’s bill includes a provision that forces institutions that serve children to report to law enforcement credible information they receive about individuals who are alleged to have abused children in the past yet who are still working with children. It also calls for reducing financial barriers for survivors who cannot afford treatment by allowing them to tap into a victim’s compensation fund.

It aims to eliminate the statute of limitations in all future cases of people who were sexually abused before they were 18 years old, and eliminate the charitable immunity doctrine, which allows for insignificant monetary consequences against institutions that fail to protect children, the group said.

Christine McConville can be reached by e-mail at cmcconville@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)

Mayor states his agenda

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino wants the state to suspend driver’s licenses and revoke the vehicle registrations of individuals convicted of firearms violations in Massachusetts and to list the charges on driving records available to police during traffic stops.

In a measure he plans to introduce Monday on Beacon Hill, the mayor is proposing that licenses be suspended and registrations revoked, without a hearing, for up to five years for crimes such as illegal possession of a gun or selling guns without a license. Menino administration officials say such a law could help stem gun crimes and warn police pulling over cars that the drivers may be carrying guns. Authorities have said many of those arrested for firearms offenses are repeat offenders.

The measure is one of more than 60 bills the mayor is proposing as part of his annual wish list for state legislation, which this year includes bills requiring fire sprinklers in all high-rise condominium buildings and allowing voters to cast ballots up to three weeks before elections. Menino’s legislative package, introduced in January each year, often offers a glimpse of the mayor’s priorities for the coming year. Menino is scheduled to outline his agenda in detail Tuesday at his annual state of the city address.

"We believe our legislative package targets our over-arching goals for 2007 and gives us better tools to serve the taxpayers of Boston," the mayor’s press secretary, Dot Joyce, said.

At the top of Menino’s agenda this year is reducing violent crime, Joyce said. Boston logged 74 homicides last year, 54 of them shootings. There were 51 fatal shootings the year before, when the city had 75 homicides, a 10-year high.

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:58 PM | Comments (0)

January 5, 2007

Group pushes for vote on healthcare amendment

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Three days after Massachusetts lawmakers bowed to pressure and voted on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, an advocacy group took aim Friday at 34 lawyers in the Legislature who refused to vote on a citizens' petition to guarantee affordable healthcare coverage.

Citizens for Limited Taxation said it plans to file a complaint with the state Board of Bar Overseers against the lawyers for ignoring a ruling by the state's highest court that said legislators had a constitutional duty to vote on certified ballot initiatives, even though the justices could not order them to do so.

After the Dec. 27 ruling and intense lobbying by opponents of gay marriage, the Legislature on Tuesday advanced the proposed ban, which requires at least 50 votes in a second constitutional convention to get on the 2008 state ballot.

But the joint session of the House and Senate refused to vote on the proposed healthcare amendment, effectively killing it.

"All the publicity and attention were paid to gay marriage because it's a sexy issue,'' said Barbara Anderson, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. But the Supreme Judicial Court ruling applied to the healthcare amendment as well, she said. "We want them to vote up or down, just like the Constitution requires.''

Anderson said her group has no view on the merits of either amendment.

The group also plans to file a complaint with the Board of Bar Overseers against Governor Deval Patrick, also a lawyer, for remarks he made shortly before the joint session. Patrick, two days before he took the oath of office, held a impromptu State House news conference at which he urged legislators to use "whatever means appropriate'' to kill the gay marriage measure.

Anderson said Patrick displayed a contempt for the democratic process.

Cyndi Roy, a spokeswoman for Patrick, said the governor had no comment.

Posted by srhee at 9:57 PM | Comments (0)

Y housing manager accused of preying on residents

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Wai Y. Tye, a retired chemist, had a pension and savings totalling over $1 million. But he preferred to live frugally, spending money on others in need rather than on himself. He didn't own a car and lived in a humble room at a downtown Boston YMCA. Life was uncomplicated, he said, and blissful.

But unknown to Tye, 89, his money was being siphoned away by the housing manager at the YMCA, authorities alleged Friday.

Henry Ortiz, 41, had access to residents' mail and allegedly intercepted Wai's bank statements and, using key information about his accounts, took $443,000 in February and March of 2005.

Ortiz, who has addresses in Boston and Peabody, allegedly stole thousands from two other people living at the Huntington Avenue YMCA, and authorities are expanding their investigation to search for other possible victims, said Boston Police Detective Steven Blair.

"Stealing money was Mr. Ortiz's first job at the Y, his second was housing manager,'' Blair said.

Ortiz was arraigned Friday in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, charged with four counts of larceny, two counts of larceny from a person 60 or older, and six counts of forgery. Ortiz, dressed in a black shirt, black slacks and a tan sport jacket, pled not guilty and refused to comment yesterday as he walked out of the courthouse. His lawyer, Andrew Stockwell-Alpert, also refused to comment.

Posted by srhee at 9:53 PM | Comments (0)

Springlike January makes Bostonians wonder

By April Simpson and Gareth Cook, Globe Staff

Boston set a record high temperature Friday, and seemed likely to set another one Saturday, as the entire region did an unsettling impression of springtime in January, complete with blooming trees and people picnicking on the Public Garden’s emerald green grass.

Boston hit 63 degrees Friday, breaking the record of 62 set in 1993, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters predicted the mercury could hit the mid-60’s again today, breaking a record that dates back to 1913.

Meteorologists said the unseasonable temperatures since the fall have been caused by changing weather patterns over the oceans. Instead of cold air being drawn down from the north, as usually happens this time of year, warm air is continuing to flow in from the south and west.

For people out and about yesterday, the weather left them wondering.

At Boston’s Public Garden, Beacon Hill’s Ellie Brown, 61, expressed dismay at a cherry tree erupting in pink blossoms.

"When you live in New England, you are accustomed to the seasons' cycles," she said, swatting her face to hit a bug. "That is just not right for January."

Posted by srhee at 9:48 PM | Comments (0)

Statement of former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran

The following is part of a statement former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran gave today after he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in plea deal with federal prosecutors:

"I am sorry. I am truly sorry.

"A few moments ago I apologized to the court and over the past several months I have apologized to my family for putting them through this ordeal.

"Now, through you, I want to apologize to the people who elected me, to my former legislative colleagues, and to the people of the Massachusetts.

"It was a great trust and responsibility to be elected State Representative and to serve as Speaker of the Massachusetts House and it will continue to be one of the greatest honors of my life.

"It is important to note that in twenty-six years of public life, including today, there has never been a hint or allegation of impropriety or self interest in any of my actions. Rather, it is well known, that the advancement of the public interest and protection of the public purse were always paramount in every decision I made.

"It is one of the great ironies of this matter that I was not subpoenaed to testify in the underlying case. Instead, I volunteered to testify, in part because the attorneys for the House knew I had done nothing wrong, and in part because of my pride in the work of the Redistricting Committee in drafting a committee plan which both created and protected minority legislative districts.

"In volunteering to testify, I was quickly drawn in to political and combative questions which I answered in a political and combative manner. That was my mistake and no one else’s and I will regret that mistake for the rest of my life.

"At a very young age, my mother, who is now 86, taught me to admit my mistakes clearly and without hesitation. I have passed that lesson on to my own two daughters and I am sure that they in turn will pass that lesson down to their children.

"Today I acknowledge, clearly and without hesitation, my errors in judgment concerning my conduct in court that day.

"I have thought long and hard about my conduct that day in federal court. If I could erase that day, if I could erase my lapse in judgment, I would do so in a moment. But I cannot undo it and the wound I have inflicted on myself will be with me and will hurt for the rest of my life.
I sincerely apologize to the Court and to the citizens of Massachusetts.

Posted by aryan at 1:27 PM | Comments (0)

Fire marshal: Georgetown fire unintentional

By Globe staff

State fire officials announced today that a four-alarm fire at the Longview Apartments in Georgetown earlier this week was unintentional.

Investigators from the state fire marshal's office said the Jan. 3 blaze started on a third-floor balcony, but they have ruled out most accidental ignition sources.

A press release issued today stated, "We are unable to eliminate the improper disposal of smoking materials as a cause."

The fire at 7 Patriot Lane left dozens homeless and caused more than $1 million in damage.

"Code compliance officers in the Office of the State Fire Marshal are continuing to work with the Georgetown Fire Department to see if there are any lessons to be learned in order to prevent a similar occurrence either in this complex or elsewhere in the Commonwealth," Said State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan in a statement.

Coan added, "It is important to understand why there was this much damage in a sprinklered building."

Posted by aryan at 1:13 PM | Comments (0)

After guilty plea, Finneran says : 'I am truly sorry'

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

Former House speaker Thomas Finneran helped his wife Donna to a waiting van today when the couple was surrounded by cameras after leaving federal court. Finneran pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in a deal with prosecutors to avoid prison time.

By Shelley Murphy and Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff

Former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran avoided prison time by pleading guilty today to obstruction of justice in exchange for federal prosecutors' dropping perjury charges against him.

US District Judge Richard G. Stearns approved the deal and sentenced the once-powerful Beacon Hill figure to 18 months of unsupervised probation and a $25,000 fine. Finneran also agreed not to run for any elected political position in state, federal or municipal government for five years after his sentencing date.

In return, the US Attorney's office also agreed to dismiss three counts of perjury against Finneran. Outside the courthouse, he was direct and sober as he addressed a throng of reporters.

"I am sorry. I am truly sorry," Finneran said. "A few moments ago, I apologized to the court, and over the past several months, I have apologized to my family for putting them through this ordeal. Now, through you, I want to apologize to the people who elected me, to my former legislative colleagues, and to the people of Massachusetts."

Finneran pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice, that on Nov. 14, 2003, he made misleading and false statements under oath in US District Court, according to the agreement.

The seven-page document, signed by Finneran on Jan. 3, says "Defendant expressly and unequivocally admits that he committed the crime so charged in the indictment, and that he is in fact guilty of the offense so charged in the indictment."

Finneran would have faced 16 to 21 months in prison if he was convicted on all counts stemming from the long legal battle over charges that he misrepresented his role in the creation of a legislative redistricting map that diluted the clout of minority voters.

Finneran is almost certain to lose his $30,000-a-year pension after his plea because of a decision last year by the state Supreme Judicial Court. Finneran may also be disbarred, but he could survive as president of the state’s top life-science lobby.

The plea agreement documents show Finneran will admit to making false and misleading statements while testifying under oath about whether he had seen and reviewed a redistricting plan before it was filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives.

In a transcript of his testimony, Finneran repeatedly denied seeing the plan until it was filed with the House clerk, when all members of the House see the plan.

"Did you review any of the redistricting plans as the process proceeded?" Finneran was asked.

"Not as the process proceeded, No sir," he responded.

"So the first time you saw a redistricting plan was when the redistricting committee disseminated its plan to the full House, is that your testimony?"

"That is my testimony. Yes, sir," Finneran responded.

The indictment cited several meetings Finneran conducted before the formal release of the redistricting map, including one in which he reviewed a redistricting plan for each district in the state, including his own.

Finneran had previously vehemently denied the charges and suggested the case against him was politically motivated, referring to the "questionable motives and machinations of the U.S. attorney's office."

"I'm not going to lose any sleep over it," he told reporters the day the indictment was handed down.

His attorney, Richard Egbert, has said Finneran never claimed he was totally uninvolved in the redistricting process and that he acknowledged in his testimony having about "half a dozen" conversations with leaders of the redistricting committee. Under state law and House rules, Finneran was free to help draft the legislative map before it was released.

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.

Posted by aryan at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)

Two lawyers indicted in $150G shakedown scam

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe staff

The two well-known criminal defense lawyers in Rhode Island, one of whom is the brother of Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their alleged roles in an elaborate scheme to obtain $150,000 from two clients, the US Attorney’s Office in Boston announced this morning.

The indictment accuses John M. Cicilline and Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr. of pressuring a Rhode Island couple arrested on federal drug trafficking charges to give them the money in exchange for promises to negotiate a more lenient sentence with federal prosecutors.

The indictment – which also charges two paralegals – says the lawyers promised John and Jacqueline Mendonca that they would tell prosecutors that the couple had provided ``substantial assistance’’ in the investigation of other drug cases. The lawyers then allegedly misrepresented the couple as being the source of useful information to federal authorities.

Authorities said part of the alleged shakedown occurred at the Plymouth House of Correction where John Mendonca was being held in 2002.

Cicilline and Bevilacqua and two paralegals, Juan Giraldo and Lisa Torres, were each indicted on a charge of conspiracy. Ciccilline was also indicted on two counts of making false statements to prosecutors and one count of obstruction of justice. Torres was indicted on charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice.

Bevilacqua, Cicilline and Torres are scheduled to be arraigned at 3:30 p.m. at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston. Giraldo will be arraigned at a later date because he is currently serving a federal sentence.

Mayor David Cicilline’s office did not immediately respond to phone calls.

Bevilacqua was disbarred for his actions in an unrelated federal case.

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison in September 2005 for leaking an FBI videotape to a television newsman and then lying about it under oath in connection with the federal corruption case against former Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr.

David Cicilline succeeded Cianci as mayor and was reelected to a four year term in November.

Bevilacqua and Cicilline are former law partners. Bevilacqua is the son of former Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph A. Bevilacqua, and the brother of former Senate Majority Leader John Bevilacqua.

Posted by mbello at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)

Fisherman may have caught prehistoric tusk

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

A New Bedford-based boat dredging for scallops in Georges Bank off the coast of Maine may have pulled up something a little more interesting than shellfish. Tim Winchenbach hauled in a foot-long, curved, tusk-like object that scientists think may be a 13,000-year-old fossil from a prehistoric elephant.

Winchenbach, of Cushing, Maine, and his wife Michelle, took the black-and-brown speckled object home to try to determine if it belonged to a wooly mammoth. During their research, they sent photographs to Paula T. Work, the Curator of Zoology at the Maine State Museum in Augusta.

"My impression is that it's a mammoth or mastodon tusk," said Work, referring in the latter reference to an elephant relative of the wooly mammoth. "It's definitely from the Pleistocene," or last ice age, said Work, adding that she could not be completely certain until she examined the specimen.

Other fossils have been found on Georges Bank, where 13,000-year-old clay preserves the specimens from the salty waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Remains of the extinct breed of elephant, which had a covering of long hair, have been found in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. They lived from 1.6 million years ago to around 10,000 years ago.

The tusk of an elephant unearthed in 1959 by a man digging in a pit in Scarborough, Maine, was first believed to be that of a circus elephant that was destroyed in 1816. However, after the tusk was acquired by the Maine State Museum, carbon dating indicated that it was a mammoth's.

Michelle Winchenbach is waiting for answers about her husband's find, but she already feels the thrill of holding something so old.

"Just the thought that I've held something that's potentially 10,000 years old or older, that nobody else in the world touched before us, I find it really fascinating," Winchenbach told WCSH-TV in Portland.

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.

Posted by aryan at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)

Person struck by freight train in Haverhill

By Globe Staff

A freight train struck and killed a person early this morning in Haverhill.

The person was in the middle of the tracks near Bradford Avenue when they were hit by a freight train at about 3:30 a.m., said Lydia Rivera, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Haverhill fire and police departments did not immediately release information about the incident.

The MBTA's Haverhill commuter rail line, which uses the same tracks, ran on schedule this morning.

The person's name and age were not released. The incident remains under investigation.

Posted by aryan at 9:04 AM | Comments (0)

January 4, 2007

Historic Pinebank mansion to be razed

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

The historic Pinebank mansion on Jamaica Pond, the focus of a decades-long battle between preservationists and the city, will be razed in the next two weeks, city officials announced Thursday.

The once-stately home, the only estate Frederick Law Olmsted retained when designing and building the Emerald Necklace’s parks and waterways, remains on the National Register of Historic Places but is a shell of its former opulence.

City officials say the building, fenced off from the public for years after fires and vandalism, has become a dangerous ruin held up by English brick and hand-carved spandrels, which workers were slowly dismantling and placing on palettes Thursday.

But Hugh Mattison, founder of Friends of Pinebank, said he believes the building can be saved and restored as an arts center. "In my view, it’s next in the state to the State House in terms of importance," he said. "We want to rebuild it, but the next move is Boston’s."

On Dec. 19, the city’s Inspectional Services Department ordered the Parks and Recreation Department to demolish the building, saying "the structure is a hazard and dangerous."

Parks Department officials said that they are working with the Boston Landmarks Commission on site improvements and that the new design could include architectural elements from the building. They plan to update the landmarks commission on Tuesday.

The estate is actually the third Pinebank on the site, built by the famed Perkins family of merchants and philanthropists and founders of the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown.

The first building was a summer home on a promontory overlooking Jamaica Pond in 1806. It was torn down and replaced by a year-round mansion in 1848, which burned down 20 years later and was replaced by the current building.

The Perkins family later moved out, and the site became the headquarters of the Boston Parks Department. In 1913, it was the city’s first Children’s Museum. The Parks Department took the building back in 1936, but a series of fires in the 1970s gutted the structure.

Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:27 PM | Comments (0)

Finneran may lose state pension

By Jonathan Saltzman, GLOBE STAFF

As former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran heads Friday morning to federal court, where he is expected to plead guilty to obstruction of justice, he faces the almost certain loss of his $30,000-a-year pension because of a decision last year by the state Supreme Judicial Court.

The state’s highest court ruled unanimously in March that Boston Juvenile Court Clerk-Magistrate John P. Bulger forfeited his pension when he admitted that he lied to two federal grand juries investigating the disappearance of his brother, fugitive mobster James J. "Whitey" Bulger.

Alden Bianchi, cochairman of a Boston Bar Association committee on pensions, said Finneran’s case appears to be a more obvious violation of the Massachusetts law that bars employees from receiving a pension if convicted of a "criminal offense involving violation of the laws applicable to his office or position."

"If you’re looking for an example of a clear-cut case, this does seem to be one," said Bianchi, given that Finneran’s alleged misdeeds appear to have been directly related to his job.

Legal specialists said Finneran also could face a one-year suspension of his license to practice law.

Once the most powerful Democrat on Beacon Hill, Finneran agreed to plead guilty before US District Judge Richard G. Stearns in exchange for federal prosecutors dropping three perjury charges against him, two sources familiar with the deal told the Globe on Wednesday.

Finneran is expected to serve a term of unsupervised probation and pay a fine to end the protracted legal battle over charges that he misrepresented his role in the creation of a legislative redistricting plan that siphoned voting strength from Boston’s blacks and Hispanics.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)

MBTA to buy locomotives and coaches

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

MBTA officials said Thursday they plan to buy 38 commuter rail locomotives and 75 double-decker coaches in a major step to improve reliability and cut overcrowding on the aging system.

The locomotives would help keep trains running on time, and the new coaches would address common passenger complaints about overcrowding and failing air-conditioning and heating units.

Commuter rail service sustained crippling slowdowns and cancellations last summer, largely because of the ailing rail fleet, which is between seven and 29 years old. At times, there were not enough locomotives and coaches to maintain the daily schedule.

The T has budgeted $190 million for the coaches and $120 million for the locomotives. T officials expect a portion will be funded by federal grants. The bid for locomotives and coaches could be awarded in the fall, with delivery over a period of three to five years, officials said.

"It’s good news for commuters," said James F. O’Leary, head of the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, the private consortium that contracts with the T to operate and maintain commuter rail.

The consortium is working under a five-year, $1.07 billion contract, signed in 2003, to run the nation’s fifth-largest commuter-rail network, with 40 million passengers a year in nearly 80 municipalities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The fleet has 410 coaches, including 140 bilevel and 270 single-level coaches, and 80 locomotives. Commuter rail service, which carries about 74,000 passengers on an average weekday, needs 333 coaches and 56 locomotives to stay on schedule. On Wednesday, the consortium had 344 coaches available and 59 locomotives.

Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, said the T plans to seek bids worldwide to make the purchase more competitive and to find technologically advanced equipment.

"We need to take advantage of new technology," he said in a statement. "A fuel-efficient, dependable, and environmentally friendly commuter rail vehicle is what our customers deserve and why we are encouraging manufacturers to competitively bid this work."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)

Romney: Patrick's inaugural speechwas 'fine and moving' on TV

By Scott Helman, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

Mitt Romney met with reporters outside his new presidential campaign headquarters in the North End today hours after his successor took office, and the former governor said he was impressed by Deval Patrick's inauguration speech.

"I thought the governor's address was fine and moving," said Romney, who watched the speech on television. "I'm delighted with his optimism and his hope to bring improvements to the Commonwealth. There's a lot that can be done to make our state even better, and I wish him the very best and hope he'll be highly successful in his years as governor."

The crowd outside the State House who watched Patrick take the oath included every former governor of the state who is still living except for Romney: Jane Swift, Paul Cellucci, William Weld, and Michael Dukakis.

Romney told the Associated Press: "My understanding is that the tradition in Massachusetts is that the outgoing governor does not attend the inauguration of the new governor. That's the way it was when I was sworn in, and my understanding is that's the case, and so I simply have followed tradition."

The one-term Republican governor filed papers with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday afternoon to establish a presidential exploratory committee, which allows him to raise and spend money for a potential run for the White House.

Romney's exploratory committee today announced the first group of national fundraising chairs to help him build his presidential campaign. The list includes Meg Whitman, President and CEO of eBay; Christopher Collins, a managing member of First Atlantic Capital; and Jon Huntsman Sr., chairman of the Huntsman Corporation in Utah.

"I am proud to have the support of these outstanding leaders," Romney said in a statement. "Together, they represent some of the best of America's entrepreneurial innovation and civic engagement. Their work will help provide the resources needed to continue our discussion with the American people about the solutions to a new generation of challenges."

The release noted that six of the chairs were major donors to President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney who were dubbed "rangers" for raising $200,000 or "pioneers" for raising $100,000 for the 2004 re-election campaign.

The other chairs announced today were: Mark Guzzetta, president of Gemstone Development, in Florida; John Miller, a founding member of National Beef Packing Company in Kansas City, Mo.; John Rakolta, Jr., chairman and CEO of Walbridge Aldinger in Michigan; Mel Sembler, chairman of the board of The Sembler Company and former ambassador to Italy; Tom Tellefsen, president of Tellefsen Investments in California; and Ted Welch, owner of Ted Welch Investments in Tennessee.

Posted by aryan at 4:10 PM | Comments (0)

Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray's Inaugural Address

This is a copy of the prepared remarks from Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray's inaugural address, as provided by his staff:

We gather together today in this "city on the hill" at this historic location to mark not only a moment of transition, but a moment of history.

When the oath of office for Governor was given, we not only witnessed a first in the Commonwealth’s history, but more importantly, we witnessed, in a vivid and tangible way, how our democratic process continues to endure with strength and vitality.

We are inspired by our new Governor’s life story of struggle and striving, of hard work and hope, because it reflects the fundamental tenets upon which this Commonwealth and our nation were founded. Governor Patrick’s story reflects a shared experience with families and individuals across this state whose daily efforts are the embodiment of those same values and work ethic.

Many of our ancestors came to this great country in ships…Pilgrims and indentured servants greeted by those who were already here…. hopeful masses on immigrant ships…. and generations of forced laborers on slave ships. And new immigrants continue to arrive by air, rail and highway to join us and to become partners in our beautiful, unique, and ongoing experiment in self government. Today brings honor to their sacrifices and to their aspirations.

Today we affirm that we are one Commonwealth.

The concept of democracy and liberty that sprang from Massachusetts and helped create a nation still lives and breaths in its purest form in city and town halls all across our state.
People at the local level have the opportunity to voice and shape their future through the electoral process, and through active engagement and participation in civic affairs. Today we affirm that tradition, and I pledge to you to work with our new governor to create a meaningful collaboration between state and local governments.

We will form a true partnership that respects and encourages civic engagement and works for the advancement of all, because we are one Commonwealth.

We are all so lucky to live here in Massachusetts, where America was born and the American Dream was conceived. Yet, for too many in our state this dream is becoming increasingly out of reach.

Dreams must not be deferred.

The responsibility, therefore, falls to each of us to foster a positive economic environment from one end of the state to the other that encourages inclusion, innovation and industry.

Innovation, coupled with intellectual capital, has allowed this state to reinvent its economy time and again. It values the dignity of honest work and good citizenship and it rewards families like the one that I grew up in where a public school teacher and nurse, children of immigrants themselves, could work hard and build a better future for their five children.

Only through a growing vigorous economy can we ensure that the American Dream is within reach for all in our Commonwealth. It is the dream my wife Tammy and I have worked hard to build for our family, and one that I know all of us here today share.

In pursuit of that goal I believe our economic well-being is inextricably linked to the educational achievement of our people. Historically, in Massachusetts, our leading industries, from early textile, manufacturing to financial services and high-tech, from shipping to software engineering to medical research, have been fueled by brainpower and innovation. Today our ability to chart an economic future in the emerging industries of life sciences, nano-technology, renewable energy, and many others that remain on the horizon of our imagination will require a renewed commitment to educational achievement and equality of educational opportunities for all people.

Moreover, we must make Massachusetts an affordable place to live and raise a family so we can retain the graduates of our schools, colleges and universities so that our best and brightest will be here to help create and lead our innovation economy.

I understand these goals are challenging, and that’s as it should be. We must aim high.
I believe all things are possible when citizens are keenly aware and are actively engaged in the civic life of their community. I am heartened and encouraged that the recent campaign and transition period saw increased levels of citizen participation all across the Commonwealth.

We need to nurture and foster that important trend. Because with resources limited by the current economic situation, strong, public involvement will be required not only from those in government, but from business and educational leaders, and from our labor, civic, charitable and non-profit organizations, to help us move Massachusetts forward.

Looking out upon this stunning gathering today, and as I reflect on the people I’ve met all across the state, it is my deepest hope and fervent prayer that years from now it will be said that this Administration made history, not just on its first day, but many, many times over by innovating, adapting and getting the job done. I commit myself completely to that goal and ask every citizen of the Commonwealth to join us in this great effort.

As we go forward from this momentous day, let us, as John Adams said, "cheerfully engage" the opportunities and challenges that confront us knowing our task is both difficult and worthy.

Thank you

Posted by aryan at 3:09 PM | Comments (0)

Plymouth man charged with setting fire to own home

By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff

Police have charged a Plymouth man with setting fire to his own home last month.

Stephen T. Butler, 39, has been charged with arson, assault and battery, interfering with the duties of a firefighter, and two counts of injury to a firefighter, according to Plymouth police Captain Michael Botieri.

The Dec. 18 fire caused approximately $300,000 worth of damage to Butler's home on Drew Road. He had to hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

As of today, Butler was still in the hospital. His arraignment had not been set yet been scheduled, Botieri said.

Posted by aryan at 3:05 PM | Comments (0)

Governor Deval Patrick's inaugural address

The following is Governor Deval Patrick's spoken inaugural address:

We meet today on a singular occasion. More than the passing of title and honor, more than the ritual transfer of the power of government -- this is the occasion when the people charge new leadership to steward the public trust. It is a profound responsibility. I accept it humbly, mindful of the history that brought us here, and the challenges before us.

For a very long time now we have been told that government is bad, that it exists only to serve the powerful and well-connected, that its job is not important enough to be done by anyone competent, let alone committed, and that all of us are on our own. Today we join together in common cause to lay that fallacy to rest, and to extend a great movement based on shared responsibility from the corner office to the corner of your block and back again.

My journey here has been an improbable one. From a place where hope withers, through great schools and challenging opportunities, to this solemn occasion, I have been supported and loved and lifted up. And I thank the family, the mentors, the teachers – every one of whom is here today in body or in spirit – just as I thank the tens of thousands of campaign volunteers and millions of voters across the Commonwealth who shared this improbable journey with me.

But really America herself is an improbable journey. People have come to these shores from all over the world, in all manner of boats, and built from a wilderness one of the most remarkable societies in human history. We are most remarkable not just for our material accomplishments or military might, but because of the ideals to which we have dedicated ourselves. We have defined those ideals over time and through struggle as equality, opportunity and fair play – ideals about universal human dignity. For these, at the end of the day, we are an envy to the world.

Massachusetts invented America. American ideals were first spoken here, first dreamed about here. Our constitution is the oldest, and one of the most explicit about individual freedoms. Our legislature is the longest continuously operating democratic body on the face of the earth. In so many ways, our struggle, our sacrifice, our optimism shaped the institutions and advanced the ideals of this Nation.

Our founders came on the Mayflower, the Arabella, and the early clipper ships. But there were other boats, too. There was the Amistad and her cargo of kidnapped Africans, who commandeered the ship to sail home to Africa, but who were seized in Long Island Sound and imprisoned in New Haven.

On this very day 165 years ago, a young man named Kinna, who had been part of that rebellion, sent a letter from prison to our own John Quincy Adams, who had retired from public life at home in Massachusetts.

Kinna pleaded with Adams to help the 36 captives from his ship to earn their freedom. Adams took the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court and won.

As a gesture of thanks and respect, the Africans gave Adams a Bible, called the Mendi Bible, after their tribal homeland.

I took the oath this morning with my hand resting on that same Bible -- and with my resolve strengthened by that same legacy. I am descended from people once forbidden their most basic and fundamental freedoms, a people desperate for a reason to hope and willing to fight for it. And so are you. So are you. Because the Amistad was not just a Black man’s journey; it was an American journey. This Commonwealth – and the Nation modeled on it – is at its best when we show we understand a faith in what’s possible, and the willingness to work for it.

So, as an American, I am an optimist. But not a foolish one. I see clearly the challenges before us.

I see the young talent and jobs leaving our state, driven away by the high cost of housing.

I see the poor in terrible shape, and the middle class one month away from being poor.

I see the heroin in the cities and the OxyContin in the suburbs, destroying families with cold indifference to class and status.

I see the way the public schools too often fail poor kids and how the cost of public colleges is pushing young people out.

I see the broken roads and bridges, the soaring health care costs, the high property taxes, the violence in our streets.

But I also see the creativity of our universities.

I also see the ingenuity of our industries.

I also see the skill of our hospitals, the inspiration of our artists.

And I see above all the imagination, the compassion and the energy of our people.

I see what we are capable of – not just as a matter of history, but as a matter of character.

And I am asking you to touch that part of our shared legacy, and reach with me for something better.

I know that we can have more and better jobs, and a stronger economy. But we will need the best prepared workforce on the planet, simpler and faster regulatory processes, a stable and simplified corporate tax structure, and a more cooperative relationship between labor and business. Let’s reach for that.

I know we can have better schools to support that emerging economy, and to prepare today’s and tomorrow’s citizens. But we will need high expectations for our kids at home as well as at schools, more flexibility in the classrooms and even in what we consider to be a “classroom,” early education and after-school programs, and public colleges and universities every bit as well-supported and honored as their private counterparts. Let’s reach for that.

I know we can have more accessible and more affordable health care for ourselves and our families. But it will take transparency among clinicians and health insurers, a system of care that makes more use of community settings, simplified administrative systems, and government stewardship for the whole for the good of the whole. Let’s reach for that.

I know we can have safer neighborhoods. But it will take more community-based patrols, after-school and enrichment programs, summer job and volunteer opportunities for young people, training and pre-release preparation for inmates, and sensible reform of both CORI and sentencing. Let’s reach for that.

We know what to do. We know that our challenges were long in the making and will require long-term solutions. We know what to reach for. And we ought to know that either we invest today or we will surely pay excessively tomorrow. An investment in education today beats an investment in prisons tomorrow. We know that. Let's reach for that.

Quick fixes, gimmicks and sound bites are not enough. That’s not in the spirit of what built this country. That is not what cleared the forest and planted New England’s earliest farms. It’s not what inspired our great universities and museums. It’s not what created the boom in textile manufacturing in its time or a flourishing biotech industry today. It’s not what freed the colonies from oppression or the slaves from bondage or women from second class citizenship.

What has distinguished us at every signature moment of our history is a willingness to look a challenge right in the eye, the instinct to measure it against our ideals, and the sustained dedication to close the gap between the two. That is who we are.

We will need different tools and different approaches, ones for our times. As your governor, I have broad responsibility for what goes right and what goes wrong, but far less authority than I need to influence the course of either. For that reason, I will reorganize the executive branch, to simplify our systems, to make it more modern and accessible and accountable, to enable our public employees to concentrate on the public service at the core of their assignments, and to enable your governor to advance the agenda you elected me to do.

I will ask municipalities to enter into a new partnership with state government, so that we can work together to reduce their operating costs, to better plan across regions, and to rebuild city and town centers into stronger economic cores.

And I will be calling on you each one of you to stay engaged, to bring forward your solutions, not just your problems, to suggest a better way, to keep your eye on the higher ground we seek, and to act like you understand that this State House is your House. You stood up, and you reached out, from every corner of the Commonwealth, working together in the best example in recent memory of a bedrock democratic principle: that to make any difference in our common realities, we must see our stake in each others’ dreams and struggles as well as our own, and act on that.

My point is that we will be doing some things differently. Moving today’s rituals within reach of you is symbolic of that. Change is not always comfortable or convenient or welcome. But it is what we hoped for, what we have worked for, what you voted for, and what you shall have.

I got a letter from a woman in Worcester named Stacy Amaral a few weeks ago. She told me how she – like my own mother -- had raised two children on her own, now both grown and doing well. Stacy now helps care for her mother, a frail 82-year-old woman of just 85 pounds, who is recovering from cancer and a broken hip.

On Election Day, when Stacy went to collect her mother to go to the polls, she arrived to find the elevators in the building weren’t functioning. She had to walk up six flights of stairs to her mother’s apartment. When she told her mother that she was sorry she wouldn’t be able to get back down (or back up for that matter) because the elevators were not working, her mother got her coat and started down the six flights of stairs. Half an hour later, one cautious step after another, her daughter following with her walker in one hand and two pocketbooks in the other. Stacy’s mother got down those six flights of stairs. I have no idea how long it took her to get back up again later on.

That frail 82-year-old did not walk down six flights of stairs for us to conduct the business of government the same old way. It is time for a change. And we are that change.

To the earliest settlers of this Commonwealth, as we have been reminded on a couple of occasions today, this Commonwealth was their shining “city on a hill.” To this kid from the South Side of Chicago, Massachusetts is my shining city on a hill. For every mother living month to month; for every student struggling to get through school; for every dad working two jobs and wondering which one is going to be shipped overseas; for every fisherman wondering whether this year’s catch will do; for every immigrant wondering whether the American Dream is a myth; for every teacher, every bus driver, every government clerk, every firefighter, every small business owner doing your best and wondering whether anyone appreciates you; for every one of God’s children who calls Massachusetts home – let’s rebuild our “city on a hill,” and make it shine again.

God bless our work and God bless you all. Thank you so much.

Posted by aryan at 1:27 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick takes historic oath of office

(David L. Ryan / Globe Staff)

Senate President Robert Travaglini swore in Governor Deval Patrick today as his wife Diane held the Mendi Bible on the steps of the State House.

By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff

Deval Patrick, who grew up in a housing project on the South Side of Chicago, won a scholarship to Milton Academy, and rose to the highest levels of the legal and corporate worlds, took the oath office today and became the first African-American governor of Massachusetts.

When Patrick placed his hand on the historic Mendi Bible at 12:20 p.m., he brought to end 16 years of Republican dominance in the corner office.

"I Deval L. Patrick do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance and will support the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," Patrick began, reciting the oath that made him the Commonwealth's 71st governor. "So help me God."

The state's first outdoor gubernatorial inauguration was watched by a crowd that gathered along Beacon Street under overcast skies with unseasonably warm temperatures hovering near 46 degrees. The State House gates were draped in red, white and blue bunting, and a dim sunlight glinted off the landmark Bulfinch dome.

The crowd included former Massachusetts governors Jane Swift, Paul Cellucci, William Weld, and Michael Dukakis, and L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, who became the nation's first black elected governor in 1990 since Reconstruction. Patrick today became the second.

Patrick delivered a booming inaugural address that conveyed a message hope and opportunity from his hardscrabble upbringing and storybook rise to the governor's office. He alluded to the historic nature of his election declaring, "my journey here has been an improbable one, from a place where hope withers."

"It's time for a change and we are that change," he said.

And then he held up his own life story as a model.

"To this kid from the South side of Chicago, Massachusetts is my shining city on a hill," Patrick said. "Let's rebuild this city on a hill and make it shine again."

Some who came to listen to the new governor seemed to share his sense that this was a new start for the state.

"I think that it was time for a change and voters said that exactly with their vote," said Jacquie Cairo-Williams, 56, of Roxbury. Asked what she meant by change, Cairo-Williams said "an economic equality."

Others were happy just to be a part of the ceremony.

"He's very good at making everybody feel that they're involved," said Kay Menand, 78, of Back Bay.

Worcester Mayor Timothy Murray also was sworn in as lieutenant governor by House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi. Murray will continue to hold both titles until Jan. 9, when he steps down as mayor.

In brief remarks, Murray said: "Today we affirm that we are one commonwealth. The concept of democracy and liberty that sprang Massachusetts and helped create a nation still lives and breathes in its purest form in city and town halls across the state."

Material from the Associated Press is included in this report.

Posted by aryan at 1:07 PM | Comments (0)

On Patrick's day, convicted rapist gets another chance in court

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff, Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

A lawyer for convicted rapist Benjamin LaGuer spoke just a single sentence before he was cut off by a skeptical Supreme Judicial Court this morning as he argued for a new trial in a proceeding that put a spotlight back on an issue that haunted Deval Patrick's successful gubernatorial campaign.

The 40-minute oral arguments focused on an 18-year-old State Police report that surfaced in November 2001 and showed that investigators recovered four fingerprints from a telephone, the cord of which was used to bind a 59-year-old woman more than 20 years ago in a brutal rape in a Leominster apartment complex.

None of the prints on the phone has been matched to LaGuer, according to his attorney, James C. Rehnquist.

LaGuer was convicted in 1984 of repeatedly raping and sodomizing the woman over an eight-hour period. Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey criticized Patrick during their heated gubernatorial campaign for twice writing the state Parole Board on LaGuer's behalf over the past decade and for donating $5,000 for DNA testing. Patrick takes the oath of office today at noon.

Partway though the arguments, Justice John M. Greaney seized on that DNA test and asked what the point was of haggling over fingerprints when the DNA matched LaGuer.

"Are we just having an academic discussion today because at a trial that DNA evidence would sink him," Greaney said.

At least two of the six justices, however, seemed sympathetic to LaGuer's situation. When an almost exasperated Greaney brought up the DNA again and asked in effect why the court was wasting its time, Justice Roderick L. Ireland responded.

"Even guilty people are entitled to fair trials, aren't they?" Ireland asked.

LaGuer and his lawyer both question the validity of the 2002 DNA test, which they say has never been scrutinized by a court. Several forensic specialists contacted by LaGuer say the DNA evidence may have been tainted. LaGuer has said investigators mixed items from the victim's apartment with underwear seized from his apartment next door.

Worcester Assistant District Attorney Sandra L. Hautanen told the SJC today that the DNA matched LaGuer with a certainty of one in 100 million.

LaGuer's half-sister, Judy Irizarry, who watched this morning's SJC arguments, was pessimistic about his chances for a new trial.

"I think they are going to deny him," Irizarry said, referencing the tone of the justices' questions. "I think it would be an injustice."

However, Bob Barry of Worcester, the victim's son-in-law, said that LaGuer's new arguments had "no merit."

"We've been listening to arguments for 23 years," said Barry, who added: "To me he's wasted 23 years in prison playing the media game."

It was the second time LaGuer's case was argued before the state's highest court. This morning only six justices from the seven-member court listened. Justice Robert J. Cordy recused himself from the hearing because he defended LaGuer as an attorney before he joined the court.

Posted by aryan at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)

Father charged with shaking baby daughter

By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe correspondent

A 20-year-old Revere man was arraigned this morning on charges that he shook his infant daughter so violently that doctors feared her vision would be permanently damaged.

The Suffolk District Attorney's office announced three new charges against Dennis J. Gamble, who now faces four counts of assault and battery on a child causing serious bodily injury. He was arrested Oct. 29 after he brought his three-month old to the hospital with head injuries, including damage to her optic nerve, the Suffolk District Attorney's office said. Investigators now allege that Gamble shook his daughter three other times.

Gamble is out on $50,000 bail and is scheduled for a pretrial conference March 13.

Posted by srhee at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

After Patrick takes oath, Romney to meet with press as a potential presidential candidate

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

Mitt Romney may have made a carefully choreographed Lone Walk out of the State House Wednesday night, but that doesn't mean the Republican presidential hopeful went very far.

Less than two hours after his successor, Deval Patrick, takes the oath of office at noon today on the State House steps, Romney will meet the press for the first time as a potential presidential candidate. At 1:45 p.m., Romney has scheduled a brief chat with reporters at his new presidential campaign headquarters on Commercial Street in the North End -- a short walk from Patrick's inaugural festivities.

Is the former governor stealing a little of the spotlight on Patrick’s big day?

"I think that's looking into it too much," said Carolyn Weyforth, a spokeswoman for Romney's presidential exploratory committee. Romney "has completed his duties as governor, and it's his first day on the job for his exploratory committee."

The event will be more a photo opportunity, Weyforth said, although Romney will answer a few questions.

Romney filed papers with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday afternoon to set up a presidential exploratory committee. The formation of an exploratory committee allows a potential candidate to raise and spend money for a presidential run.

In a press release, Romney staffers described this afternoon's event: "Today, Governor Mitt Romney will arrive for his first day at the Romney for President Exploratory Committee national headquarters after concluding his official duties as Massachusetts Governor. Governor Romney will hold a brief press availability upon entering Committee headquarters."

Posted by aryan at 9:54 AM | Comments (0)

One last sip of coffee before becoming governor

(Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff)

Deval Patrick and his wife Diane Patrick sipped coffee in the kitchen of their Milton home this morning before today's inaugural festivities. When Patrick takes the oath of office at noon, he will become Massachusetts' first black governor.

(Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff)

Posted by aryan at 8:40 AM | Comments (0)

January 3, 2007

Finneran to plead guilty, avoid jail

By Frank Phillips and Shelley Murphy, GLOBE STAFF

Former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran, in an agreement that will allow him to avoid jail time, will plead guilty Friday to obstruction of justice in exchange for federal prosecutors’ dropping perjury charges against him, according to two sources familiar with the deal.

Finneran, who faced 16 to 21 months in prison if convicted on all counts, will serve a term of unsupervised probation and pay a fine to end the long legal battle over charges that he misrepresented his role in the creation of a legislative redistricting map that diluted the clout of minority voters.

Finneran, 56, a lawyer and once-powerful figure on Beacon Hill, will enter his plea before US District Judge Richard G. Stearns. Finneran also has agreed not to seek political office for five years, and his case will be referred to the state Board of Bar Overseers for possible disbarment.

The plea agreement marks a turnabout for Finneran, who had insisted he was innocent and had declared he would not be "losing any sleep" over the federal case against him.

His trial was scheduled to begin Jan. 16.

Finneran, who has been president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council for two years, did not respond to several calls made to his office seeking comment. His attorney, Richard Egbert, declined to comment, as did Christina DiIorio Sterling, a spokeswoman for US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan’s office.

Officials at the Biotechnology Council could not be reached.

The criminal case stemmed from Finneran’s November 2003 testimony in a civil suit brought by the Black Political Caucus and other voting-rights groups that sought to overturn the House’s 2001 legislative redistricting plan on the grounds it was unfair to minority voters. A three-judge panel threw out the redistricting plan in 2004 and sharply scolded Finneran in a footnote to the decision, strongly implying that he had misled the court when he testified that he had little involvement in the drawing of the district lines.

Federal prosecutors indicted the former speaker in June 2005, and in the indictment outlined a series of eight meetings that he held about redistricting.

Finneran faced three counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. The perjury charges stemmed from his testimony in court and in an earlier deposition in which he allegedly lied about his role. The obstruction of justice charge was brought against him because prosecutors said that, by making misleading statements, he had interfered with the judges’ efforts to determine whether the voting rights of minorities were violated.

Both charges are felonies, but obstruction of justice carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence and perjury carries five years.

At the time of the indictment, however, federal prosecutors said that under federal sentencing guidelines Finneran would have faced a sentence ranging from 16 to 21 months if he was convicted of all counts.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

Romney leaves state on different footing

By Scott Helman, Globe Staff

Jobs are up slightly, and unemployment is down. More high-school students are passing the MCAS, but more are dropping out, too. Business leaders are more bullish, and crime is down statewide. But homicides in Boston are up sharply, and the tax burden is heavier for many across the commonwealth.

This is how the Massachusetts that Mitt Romney left behind Wednesday compares to the Massachusetts that he inherited four years ago.

To some, Romney has served honorably in the tradition of Republican governors before him, holding the line on taxes and providing a counterweight to the Democratic Legislature.

To others, he arrived on Beacon Hill with promise, but he became too consumed by political ambition to devote sufficient attention to his day job.

As he embarks on a run for the White House, Romney’s one term here will be scrutinized as never before. What he accomplished -- and what he didn’t -- promises to loom large over the next two years as his record is compared against likely presidential rivals such as Senator John McCain of Arizona and former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York.

"I’m not naive enough to think that people obviously [don’t] have some disappointment and think that he’s lost a little bit of focus," said the House minority leader, Bradley H. Jones Jr., a North Reading Republican who was a Romney ally in the Legislature.

"My hope is," he added, "that, like many things in life, when there’s a little bit of distance, people will take a broader view."

By most accounts, Romney’s signal accomplishment was a historic healthcare bill he signed last year that aims to extend insurance to almost all Massachusetts residents. Though legislative leaders were instrumental, Romney and his administration are given -- and claim -- credit for a plan being hailed as a potential national model.

But if the law was a cornerstone of Romney’s tenure, it also highlighted two criticisms that dogged him in the Corner Office.

First, his involvement with healthcare, critics say, was an exception to four years of mostly distant relations with the Legislature. And Romney’s veto of a central part of the bill -- a fee on certain employers who do not provide coverage -- drew charges that he was more interested in appealing to Republican primary voters than in ensuring that the plan worked financially.

Romney quickly integrated the healthcare plan into his presidential pitch, but when he talks on the stump about his record in Massachusetts, his main message is often how he steered the state through a fiscal crisis in his first year in office.

Through trimming state government, raising fees on certain services, and ending corporate tax loopholes, Romney closed a budget gap of roughly $1.7 billion. He boasts that he did so without raising taxes, but some tax specialists and other observers have argued that Romney effectively raised taxes by boosting the fees and eking more money out of corporations.

Romney has declined repeated requests by The Boston Globe for an interview. His communications director, Eric Fehrnstrom, said Wednesday that Massachusetts is better off today than it was four years ago "by almost every objective measurement."

"He balanced the budget, got the economy back on track, and achieved what no other state in the nation has been able to figure out, and that’s how to get health insurance to all our citizens without raising taxes and without a government takeover," Fehrnstrom said, noting that Romney did not accept a salary while in office. "I think the people of Massachusetts will remember him for his selfless service to the Commonwealth," he said.

On taxes, Romney failed in his efforts to roll back the state’s income tax rate to 5 percent, the level voters called for in a 2000 referendum.

But he won a significant victory in 2005 when he persuaded the Legislature not to impose a retroactive capital gains tax increase on investors.

That, according to Barbara Anderson, a leading antitax activist in Massachusetts, is indicative of one important value of Romney: what he prevented from happening just by being in office.

"People ... know what Romney did," she said. "They don’t have any way of knowing what he prevented from happening."

Romney also will be remembered for taking over the Big Dig after a tunnel ceiling collapse in July killed a Boston woman. The tragedy, some say, highlighted the best and worst of Romney: His leadership helped restore public confidence in the project in the immediate aftermath, but Romney eventually resumed his political travels and was forced to concede that his administration made a mistake in continuing to rely on project manager Bechtel Parsons/Brinckerhoff for inspections.

Indeed, Romney has been criticized for making big pronouncements but not always following through.

On "smart growth" -- concentrating dense development near public transit, for example -- his administration initially made it a priority but seemed to lose focus, said Marc Draisen, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a regional planning agency.

"We saw a lot of interest in the beginning, and then everything just sort of started to coast," Draisen said.

On education, Romney, over the Legislature’s objections, instituted the Adams Scholarship program, which offers tuition-free scholarships at public colleges to students whose MCAS scores place them in the top 25 percent of students in their district.

He also oversaw continued progress on MCAS, and saw Massachusetts fourth- and eighth-graders score highest in the nation on a benchmark standardized test.

But former Boston schools superintendent Thomas Payzant said that while Romney is right to emphasize education in light of increasing competition from Asia, his administration at times failed to provide sufficient funding so that the state’s cities and towns could keep up.

"It’s not enough to talk about what the problem is. It’s important to begin to take some steps to solve it," Payzant said.

A year ago, when he announced that he would not seek a second term, Romney said he was leaving after what he called a "whirlwind of accomplishment."

Now it’s up to primary voters, political opponents, and national media to judge.

Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick vows to examine Romney appointments

By Matt Viser
GLOBE STAFF

WORCESTER – Governor-elect Deval Patrick said tonight that he would strongly consider overturning some of the dozens of lame duck appointments handed out by Governor Mitt Romney, who will relinquish his power today at noon when Patrick is inaugurated.

“I want to look at the whole rush of appointments made in the last little while,” Patrick told reporters after a celebration in downtown Worcester. “Not because I begrudge the governor – well, I won’t go that far. In some ways he’s been busier in the last few weeks than he has been in the last few years.”

“Look, I need, we need, people who support our agenda in key places in order to deliver our agenda,” the Democrat added, when asked what his first act as governor would be. “And I want to make sure that we have the opportunity to put the right people, the best people in place.”

The Globe reported Wednesday that Romney installed more than 200 Republican activists, state employees and others, including outgoing Lieutenant Gov. Kerry Healey, to boards and commissions in the closing weeks of his tenure. Romney had previously decried patronage.

According to the Secretary of State’s office, Patrick can repeal some of the appointments within 15 days after they are made, under certain circumstances. Patrick last night did not specify which of the appointments he was likely to reject.

Patrick’s remarks on patronage came in an exchange with reporters, after he spoke to a sold out crowd of 1,750 in Worcester, where he kicked off four days of inaugural festivities in a region that helped he and running mate, Lieutenant Governor-elect Timothy P. Murray, win a resounding victory over Healey in November.

Posted by ddahl at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)

Voters weigh open invitation to Patrick inauguration

By Lisa Wangsness and Donovan Slack, GLOBE STAFF

Deval Patrick’s inaugural committee blasted e-mail messages to tens of thousands and launched a media blitz promising hot cocoa, cookies, and a chance to shake Patrick’s hand in the first-ever outdoor inaugural ceremony in Massachusetts. On his inaugural website, he says it will be a "historic occasion," an inauguration for the masses that packs the Boston Common and that lines up hundreds to greet the new governor in a receiving line at the State House.

Patrick built a large grass-roots following, and inaugural organizers said the ceremony will draw supporters from around the state who worked to elect the first-time candidate who said he was leading "a movement for change." Wednesday, as workers installed press risers and a small bridge to run media cables across Beacon Street and as Patrick prepared to make the opening statement of his tenure, people across the city looked forward to Thursday in different ways.

In Dudley Square, many said they would make it a point to see the inauguration of the state’s first black governor on the Common. "He made history," said Penny Godwin, 40, of Mattapan.

Downtown office jockeys said they may wander over to the proceedings over their lunch hours. "I’ll probably walk by it," said Nate Beckles, who works in the downtown financial district.

Others, said that they would be happy when Patrick is sworn in, but that other priorities would come first.

"Pomp and circumstance doesn’t pay for diapers," said Philip Michelson, a movie producer from Brookline who was walking a friend’s poodle near Coolidge Corner in Brookline.

"God bless Deval Patrick, but I’m not getting paid to show up there ..."

Others said they had found themselves swept up in the festivities. Kesha Lawrence, 18, who was sightseeing downtown Wednesday, said she had moved from St. Croix to Massachusetts only last month, but she said her uncle, a Boston police officer, will take her to the inaugural.

"He told me about the whole governor thing," said Lawrence, adding that she had seen media reports about Thursday’s ceremony. She wants to attend, she said, "just to see what it’s all about."

Carlos Ortiz, a South End resident who was having lunch in Downtown Crossing with his wife Wednesday, has been waiting for Thursday for months. He said he had volunteered to help with phone banks for Patrick’s campaign. Patrick, he said, struck him as someone who was interested in "reaching out and helping people," and Ortiz said he would not miss Thursday’s swearing-in. "I’ll make sure I’ll be down here," he said.

So will Mark Snyder, an early supporter and campaign volunteer because of Patrick’s advocacy of gay rights.

Snyder said he had never been so involved in politics before.
"I love how Deval brings his message to the community," said Snyder, founder of the blog QueerToday.com, who works on Winter Street, across from the Common.

But for those who did not vote for Patrick, like Frank Hanifin, 74, a Democrat from Walpole who voted for Republican Kerry Healey in November, Thursday will be just another day.

"I think if he was serious, he’d get to work," he said. "He can celebrate when he accomplishes something."

Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:50 PM | Comments (0)

Romney signs teen driving, track simulcasting, and a flurry of other last minute laws

By Globe Staff

Governor Mitt Romney signed a flurry of bills in his last hours in office today, including one measure that will tighten restrictions for teen drivers and another that will extend the simulcasting rights of the state's four racetracks for another two years.

The teen driving legislation adds additional training for young drivers, requiring teens to spend more time behind the wheel with their parents. They will also face stiffer penalties for speeding and drag racing.

The simulcasting law will allow the state's four racetracks to collect wagers on races broadcast from out-of-state tracks through 2008.

Lawmakers pushed through compromise legislation on the last day of their session after an attempt to reach an agreement last week collapsed.

Posted by aryan at 6:18 PM | Comments (0)

Fatal accident snarls traffic throughout metro Boston

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

A fatal accident on Interstate 93 earlier this afternoon has snarled traffic throughout the metropolitan Boston as rush hour is hitting its peak.

The 12:30 p.m. accident near Freeport Street in Dorchester has been cleared from the interstate, but traffic is still backed up as far as Braintree in the south. To the north, cars are jammed though the O'Neill Tunnel and into Somerville. Streets in South Boston and Dorchester are virtual parking lots.

"The incident is cleared, but it was cleared just as rush hour is hitting its peak," said Jeff Larson of SmartRoute Systems Inc., the traffic-watching firm. "Any traffic trying to access I-93 is backed up."

Andrew Square in South Boston has been hit especially hard by drivers getting off I-93. Boston transportation officials are asking drivers to remain on the highway.

Share your commute with a Globe reporter by e-mailing dabel@globe.com

The name of the man who died this afternoon was not released.

Joseph Jackson, 24, was driving south on I-93 when he said he saw a white Toyota Solara make "a NASCAR-type move" and change lanes, cutting off a black Ford sports utility vehicle.

The Solara clipped the back of the SUV, Jackson said. The driver of the SUV lost control and flipped twice, crashing into a guard rail and landing upside-down.

The driver of the Solara pulled over and stopped about 100 yards in front of the crash, Jackson said. The accident remains under investigation.

Posted by aryan at 5:54 PM | Comments (0)

Fung Wah bus runs into trouble on turnpike

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

In the latest trouble for the Fung Wah discount bus line, the wheels literally fell off a New York-to-Boston bus on the Massachusetts Turnpike today.

None of the 30 passengers on board were injured, but State Police cited the company after two of the tandem rear wheels on the right side of the bus detached from the vehicle's rear axle as it was headed from New York to Boston.

State Police arrived to find the two right rear wheels had severed from the bus axle. Investigators said the bolts appeared to have been sheared off, an indication that the lug nuts may not have been properly tightened.

The bus passed its most recent inspection by state officials, on Nov. 29. Officials with the state Department of Telecommunications and Energy, which regulates commercial bus lines, said they are now asking Fung Wah officials for detailed repair reports on the 2001 Van Hool bus since that inspection.

The bus was about 20 miles from South Station in Boston when the incident occurred. Another Fung Wah coach was dispatched from Boston to pick up the passengers.

Posted by srhee at 4:28 PM | Comments (0)

Police standoff with armed man in Mattapan ends without incident

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

A tense standoff with an armed man on Westmore Street in Mattapan ended without incident this afternoon, police said.

It started when several shots were fired and an off-duty officer pursued a gunman into an apartment building. No injuries were reported.

The hostage team was called to negotiate with the man who was holed up in a hallway with a woman. Authorities are trying to determine if she was being held against her will.

Within an hour, the residents on the first two floors of the building were allowed to leave, police said.

Shortly before 4 p.m. the man surrendered and was taken into custody. The woman was taken out afterward and released.

Posted by aryan at 4:18 PM | Comments (0)

Romney files election papers to create presidential committee

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

Governor Mitt Romney took a major step toward officially announcing a run for the White House and filed paperwork this afternoon to form a presidential exploratory committee.

"After talking to my family, I have decided to take this initial step of forming an exploratory committee in order to raise the resources and build the campaign organization required to pursue the highest office in our country," Romney said in a statement posted on his new website www.mittromney.com. "I look forward to continuing to talk with the American people to determine how best we can meet a new generation of challenges."

According to the website, attorney Ben Ginsberg filed the paperwork with the Federal Election Commission at 4 p.m. The formation of an exploratory committee allows a potential candidate to raise and spend money for a presidential run.

Romney, 59, has been widely seen as a likely candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. In 2006, he spent more than 212 days out of Massachusetts in what many saw as a preparation for a run for the White House.

Romney, who served one term, is leaving office this evening. He said in the release posted on his website that he "has not made a decision on when he will officially and formally declare his candidacy."

The name of the new committee is Romney for President Exploratory Committee, Inc. The governor's new website includes biographies of him and his wife Ann; his stance on issues from immigration to "Affirming America's Culture and Values;" and a video section called "Mitt TV."

Other Republicans who have formed exploratory committees include former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Arizona Senator John McCain, and former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson.

Democrats who have taken the same step include Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, former Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska, and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack. Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards announced his official candidacy last week.

Posted by aryan at 4:00 PM | Comments (0)

Firefighters knock down towering blaze in Georgetown condominium complex

(Jim Wilson/Globe staff)

Firefighters battled flames today at condominium complex in Georgetown.

By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

GEORGETOWN -- A five-alarm fire destroyed a three-story apartment building in a condominium complex near Interstate 95 this morning, leaving at least two dozen people homeless. There were no reported deaths or injuries.

Flames shot 20 to 30 feet into the air, witnesses said, as the roof collapsed in the building, which is one of seven in the Longview at Georgetown, a luxury apartment complex that was built two years ago.

"We now have it just about under control," Georgetown Police Chief James Mulligan said at 12:30 p.m., three hours after the blaze was first reported by a construction worker.

The fire completely destroyed at least one building that contained 24 apartments, Mulligan said. It was not immediately clear how many people lived there.

Rescuers saved four dogs -- including a Husky that had been soaked by firefighters' hoses -- and two cats, according to Georgetown Animal Control Officer Helen Phillips. No pets were lost in the blaze, Phillips said.

It took 100 to 200 firefighters from surrounding communities to help Georgetown officials battle the blaze. The building was up to fire code and had sprinklers inside, Mulligan said. Shortly after noon, firefighters were ordered out of the building for safety reasons.

A representative from the Dolben Co. of Burlington, which manages the property, declined comment at the scene.

"It's all burned down there's nothing left but sticks," said Donna Lay, 46, a resident who moved in on Dec. 1 but was working at a hair dresser in Amesbury when the flames erupted.

Lay's 13-year-old son was home sick from school and called his mother to say their apartment building was on fire. He escaped the flames with their dog, but their cat, Toby, was trapped inside the building, Lay said.

Another resident, Mike Adams, 23, returned home from a trip to the grocery store to see white smoke billowing from the building’s roof. Adams said he immediately called his brother who was asleep inside.

His brother ran out of the building and then "the whole third floor went up in flames," Adams said.

The Merrimack Valley chapter of the America Red Cross was setting up an emergency shelter at Georgetown High School to assist displaced residents. Yvonne Zinicola, the Executive Director of the Red Cross chapter, said 10 volunteers were preparing to help people living in the 24 apartments.

Posted by aryan at 2:54 PM | Comments (0)

Travaglini: despite GOP nadir, no new taxes

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

In one of his last acts in office before embarking on a likely presidential bid, Republican Governor Mitt Romney swore in the 200 members of the state Legislature today in what marks a low-point in modern history for the GOP on Beacon Hill.

When Governor-elect Deval Patrick takes office at noon tomorrow, there will be just 24 Republicans legislators in the Capitol. Democrats now hold all six statewide constitutional offices, and roughly 7-to-1 majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature.

Democrat Robert E. Travaglini, who was elected for his third term today as Senate president, couldn't resist taking a swipe across the aisle in his inaugural address as he congratulated Senator Richard R. Tisei, the new minority leader.

"The number of Republicans is now small enough to fit into a Volkswagen," Travaglini said, according to a copy of prepared remarks distributed to the media by his office. "And to make matter worse, his party no longer has the corner office behind him as a backstop. Good luck Senator!!!"

Travaglini presides over a 40-member Senate that now has 35 Democrats and five Republicans -- a number that dropped by one when former Republican Minority Leader Brian Lees of East Longmeadow did not run for re-election and Gale Candaras, a Democrat of Wilbraham, won his seat.

In the new House, there are 141 Democrats and 19 Republicans. Despite the Democratic dominance, Travaglini promised that one party rule would not lead to excess.

"Already, we are hearing from critics and naysayers about the disastrous prospects of one party rule on Beacon Hill -- immediate tax increases and unfettered spending," Travaglini said. "Let me be the first to put some of those concerns to rest.

"Over the last two sessions, there has been no appetite in the Senate to increase taxes," Travaglini continued. "After discussions with my colleagues, I can tell you tax hikes are still off the table going into this new legislative year."

Posted by aryan at 1:36 PM | Comments (0)

Romney says he filed papers for presidential exploratory committee

By Globe Staff

Governor Mitt Romney took a major step toward officially announcing a run for the White House today when he told reporters he had filed paperwork to form a presidential exploratory committee.

"We filed exploratory papers today and so the process is moving forward on that front," Romney told reporters, according to State House News and the Associated Press.

A spokesman for Romney later told the Associated Press that the paperwork officially would be filed late this afternoon in Washington with the Federal Election Commission. The formation of an exploratory committee allows Romney to raise and spend money for a presidential run.

Romney, 59, has been widely seen as a likely candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. In 2006, he spent more than 212 days out of Massachusetts in what many saw as a preparation for a run for the White House.

Romney, who served one term, is leaving office this evening.

Posted by aryan at 1:01 PM | Comments (0)

Park Street northbound closed for inauguration

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

Park Street is closed to northbound traffic between Tremont and Beacon streets today for inauguration activities at the State House, according to Boston transportation officials.

There are also expected to be significant delays on Beacon Street today and Thursday for Deval Patrick’s inauguration as governor.

For more information about road closures and delays, read the Globe's traffic blog Starts & Stops.

Posted by aryan at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)

January 2, 2007

We offer dos and don'ts for inauguration

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

It’s one thing to throw a party for 10,000 people. It’s quite another when there’s an open invitation -- and you’re not sure who exactly will show up.

But Deval Patrick’s official ascent to office Thursday is expected to be witnessed by thousands on Boston Common, and the inaugural ball is open to anyone with $50 to spend on a ticket.

But with the governor-elect throwing open the doors to the average person, what exactly is the average person supposed to wear to an inaugural gala? And how exactly is the average person expected to behave?

We offer our program guide for those who want to go -- with advice on apparel (black tie is optional for the galas, the invitations say), a few tips on how to comport yourself (stick to small talk on the weather and the Patriots; avoid religion and politics), a people-watching guide (look for James Taylor, Yo-Yo Ma, and John Updike) and some guesses on the weather.

Many firsts will be set.

It’s the first outdoor gubernatorial inauguration on record. At more than $1 million, it’s the most expensive. And being sworn in will be the state’s first black governor, the nation’s second. The first, L. Douglas Wilder, who served as Virginia’s governor from 1990 to 1994, is to attend.

Thursday morning, Patrick will attend an invitation-only interfaith service at the Old South Meeting House before being taken to the State House, where he will spend time with his family in the governor’s office preparing to deliver the speech he wrote.

The inauguration will begin at noon, with 350 seats for VIPs arranged on a semicircular stage in front of the State House designed to mimic the House chambers where previous governors were sworn into office. Forecasts are predicting a mostly sunny day, with highs near 60 degrees.

There will be a JumboTron positioned near Park and Beacon streets broadcasting images from the stage.

Four former Massachusetts governors are expected -- Michael Dukakis, Paul Cellucci, Jane Swift, and William Weld. Mitt Romney is not on the list.

Romney is expected to transfer several ceremonial items to Patrick, including a pewter key to the governor’s office, a gavel, and an original copy of the 1860 General Laws of Massachusetts. But he’ll do it tonight, not on the day of the inauguration as is tradition.

After the inauguration, the State House will be open for visitors. Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray will stand in a receiving line for two hours, greeting anyone who wants to talk to them.

Visitors will have to pass through metal detectors. Hot chocolate and cookies will be on hand.

Youth inaugural: Citi/Shubert Theatre, 3 to 4:45 p.m. Thursday

Student delegates from high schools across the state have been invited to spend about two hours with the new governor in a town hall meeting. Suggested attire? "Given the historic significance of Inauguration Day, we respectfully request that all delegates dress appropriately but comfortably. Please leave hats and jeans at home!"

The boys should go with khakis and a collared shirt, girls with a dress or a pantsuit, according to fashion experts.

The Brockton High School marching band will close the event.

Boston inaugural celebration: Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, 8 p.m. Thursday.

Following a private dinner at the Museum of Fine Arts (featuring cuisine from various spots in Massachusetts), Patrick will go to the inaugural celebration.

He will wear a black tuxedo, no tails. The invitation for the gala says black tie is optional. "Optional means that minimally men should be in a suit and tie, preferably black," said Millie Downing, founder of the Etiquette School of New England in Medfield.

Women should have a floor-length dress that is elegant. And if you have a funky outfit you’ve been waiting to show off, she said, "don’t do it tonight." (She’s planning to wear a black dress with pearls; her 10- and 11-year-old boys will be in coats and ties.)

Those expected to attend include political dignitaries, musical stars, and everyday residents.

"With social events of this sort, this is not the time you challenge them on their political stance. 'Mayor Menino, what were you thinking?' This is not that time for that," said Cindy Post Senning, of the Emily Post Institute.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:28 PM | Comments (0)

Red Sox’ oldest fan dies

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

At 109, Kathryn Gemme had been a Red Sox fan longer than anyone in Fenway Park when Johnny Pesky stopped by to chat in May 2004.

"Kate asked Pesky how old he was," said state Senator Marc R. Pacheco, a Taunton Democrat who had arranged her trip to the game and was close by. The former Red Sox shortstop was 84 at the time.

"She said, 'Ah, Johnny, you’re just a kid.'"

The oldest person in the state, Mrs. Gemme had of late become the eighth-eldest in the United States and the 20th in the world.

When she turned 112 in November, she listened to the longevity statistics tabulated by Gerontology Research Group, which keeps track of supercentenarians worldwide, then exclaimed, "Imagine that!"

Mrs. Gemme had cheered on Babe Ruth when he played for the Red Sox and attended her first game in Fenway as a teenager, shortly after the park opened in 1912. She died Friday in Nemasket Healthcare Center in Middleborough.

As the oldest Red Sox fan, she found that age had its perks. While many people traveled far to see the 2004 World Series trophy in person, team representatives brought it to Mrs. Gemme for her 111th birthday, on Nov. 9, 2005.

"She had her picture taken with the trophy," said her daughter, Lucille Findley of Jacksonville, Ill. "That was a treasure. That was a big day of her life."

"It was remarkable for us to visit someone who was actually a true testament to what a lifelong Red Sox fan really means, someone who stuck with us the entirety of those 86 years," said Marty Ray of the team’s public relations department, who was with Mrs. Gemme that day.

"She was an eternal Red Sox fan in the truest sense of the word," Ray said.

Born in Chicopee on Nov. 9, 1894, Kathryn R. Moreau graduated from Chicopee High School in 1913.

She attended secretarial school, and married Ovella Gemme. They moved to Stoughton during the Depression, when one of his friends opened a factory. During World War II, Mrs. Gemme worked in a factory, too, helping to prepare parachutes to slow the descent of bombs.

The Gemmes raised two daughters, Lucille and Lillian. Mrs. Gemme outlived her husband, who died in the 1960s, and Lillian. Paul Findley, her son-in-law, attributed her longevity to "a simple, quiet life" — and neither smoking nor drinking.

As Christmas approached, Mrs. Gemme kept asking if the holiday had arrived.

"I believe she didn’t want to let go until after that," said Sharon Gosling, activities director at Nemasket. "I’d tell her when Christmas was, then she’d smile and close her eyes."

Last week, her health failing, Mrs. Gemme said goodbye to Gosling on Thursday. She died the next day. "She knew the time was here. She went very peacefully," Gosling said.

In addition to her daughter and granddaughter, Mrs. Gemme leaves another granddaughter; two grandsons; and seven great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Thursday in Sacred Heart Church in Middleborough. Burial will be in St. Patrick Cemetery in Chicopee.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)

Prosecutors to take office

By John R. Ellement, Globe staff

C. Samuel Sutter vows to be tough on gun violence. Gerard T. Leone Jr. sees the need to expand protections for children and the elderly. And Joseph D. Early Jr. says he will reach out to youngsters in hopes of preventing crime.

On Wednesday, these men will be sworn into office, becoming district attorneys in Bristol, Middlesex, and Worcester counties, respectively. They represent the newest public faces of law enforcement in the state, joining eight other district attorneys.

Sutter, a Fall River resident, ousted Paul F. Walsh Jr. in the Democratic primary, making him the only person to defeat an incumbent in a district attorney race. Early, from Worcester, won the Democratic primary to succeed John J. Conte, who is retiring. He was unopposed in November. Leone, from Hopkinton, was unopposed in the primary and in the election. He replaces Martha Coakley, the Massachusetts attorney general.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)

Suspect surrenders in New Year's Eve slaying

By David Abel, Globe Staff

A 20-year-old Merrimac, N.H. man surrendered today in the fatal shooting of a Hyde Park man near Boston's South Station on New Year’s Eve, police said.

Sean Evelyn allegedly killed Cushings Fortuna, 20, shortly after 4 p.m. at Beach and South streets, police said. They would not comment on a possible motive for the shooting.

Fortuna sustained multiple gunshot wounds and later died at Boston Medical Center. He was the city's 74th and last homicide victim in 2006.

Elaine Driscoll, a police department spokeswoman, said detectives linked the shooting to Evelyn after "establishing leads based on cooperation from individuals" who knew the suspect.

Evelyn is to be arraigned on murder charges tomorrow in Boston Municipal Court.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 7:48 PM | Comments (0)

Romney lays wreath for Ford at the Old North Church

(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

Governor Mitt Romney laid a wreath today at the Old North Church to mark the death of President Gerald Ford. The 38th president visited the North End church in 1975 to open the nation's bicentennial celebration.

Posted by aryan at 6:17 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick to take oath on Bible that belonged to freed Amistad captives

(Lane Turner/Globe Staff File Photo)

Governor-elect Deval Patrick will take the oath of office Thursday on the Mendi Bible, which was given to President John Quincy Adams by people who were freed from the slave ship Amistad.

By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff

One hundred and sixty-six years ago, a prominent Massachusetts politician, former President John Quincy Adams, played a role in black history by successfully persuading the U.S. Supreme Court to free a group of African captives who had staged a mutiny on the slave ship Amistad.

Thursday, when Deval Patrick takes his place in the history books as the state's first African-American governor, he will offer a symbolic nod to that storied past, taking the oath of office on a leather-bound Bible given by the freed captives to the former president.

"This Bible is a quintessential American symbol, one of democracy, and the inner workings of freedom, and our system of laws, and the abolitionist movement, and it represents a real victory for Africans who stood up for themselves," said Beverly A. Morgan-Welch, the executive director of the Museum of African American History and a co-chair of Patrick's inauguration committee. "The Bible was given to Adams by these freed African men because they so appreciated that Adams was not just their legal advocate, but he believed in their freedom, and here we are, how many years later, and we are installing Massachusetts' first African-American governor."

The book, named the Mendi Bible for the men's tribe, is part of the collection of the Adams National Historical Park in Quincy.

On an inside page, the Mendi men wrote a note of thanks to Adams, saying the Bible "has been a precious book to us in prison, and we love to read it now we are free."

Adams sent the men a letter back, saying, "It was from that book that I learnt to espouse your cause when you were in trouble."

Four years ago, Mitt Romney took the oath of office using a family Bible signed by his father, George Romney, a one-time governor of Michigan.

Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com

Posted by aryan at 5:59 PM | Comments (0)

After second vote, gay marriage ban still advances

By Scott Helman, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

A constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage survived a second vote this afternoon after 62 lawmakers moved to advance the initiative to the next legislative session, ensuring that the battle over same-sex weddings will continue for at least another year.

The measure, which only needed 50 votes to stay alive, must still be passed in the next session to make it on the ballot as a referendum in 2008.

In the second vote in a little over two hours, the proposed amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and ban future same-sex weddings was opposed by 134 legislators. Supporters of gay marriage fell 13 votes short of defeating the amendment.

The initiative first passed shortly after 2 p.m. with the support of 61 lawmakers. Moments later, opponents of the ban moved to reconsider in the hopes of garnering an additional 13 votes to kill the measure.

Two hours later, however, the lawmakers supporting the ban held their ground during a second vote and were joined by another member. The amendment advanced with the support of 62 votes.

The vote is a major victory for Governor Mitt Romney, who leaves office in two days but is widely expected to run for president as a social conservative. Romney spearheaded a lawsuit that tried to force lawmakers to act after they adjourned a Constitutional Convention in November without voting on the proposal.

"This is a huge victory for the people of Massachusetts," Romney said in a statement. "In a democracy, the voice of the people is sovereign. I congratulate the Legislature and its leadership for upholding the Constitution and the rule of law."

At the same time, the affirmative vote is a blow to Governor-elect Deval Patrick, who urged lawmakers earlier in the day to defeat the measure by any means necessary to permanently end the debate in Massachusetts, the only state that allows gay marriage.

"I am disappointed by today's vote in the Constitutional Convention," Patrick said in a statement. "We have never used the initiative petition to limit individual freedoms and personal privacy, but today’s vote was a regrettable step in that direction.

"We have work to do over the next year to turn this around," Patrick continued. "I am heartened by the fact that the overwhelming majority of the members of the Legislature – a margin of over 2 to 1 -- voted to move on. I pledge to do what I can to build on that momentum, so that our Constitution will continue to stand for liberty and freedom, and not discrimination."

Backers of the proposed constitutional amendment collected more than 123,000 certified signatures in an effort to get the measure on the ballot. However, the initiative still needs the support of 50 lawmakers in two consecutive sessions.

That means lawmakers will have to revisit the issue again next legislative session. If the ban again gets the support of at least 50 lawmakers, the proposed amendment will be put to the voters as a referendum on the 2008 ballot.

Posted by aryan at 4:53 PM | Comments (0)

Lawmakers reconsider vote advancing proposal to ban gay marriage

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

Two hours after advancing a ban on gay marriage, the Legislature moved late this afternoon to reconsider the vote in a move that could ultimately defeat the effort to amend the state Constitution.

Lawmakers recessed a Constitutional Convention while they re-examined the proposed ban, which moved forward earlier today with the approval of 61 lawmakers. The amendment, which only needed 50 votes to stay alive, must be passed in two consecutive legislative sessions to make it on the ballot as a referendum.

The proposed constitutional amendment would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman and would ban future same-sex weddings.

The initiative was originally opposed by 132 lawmakers, 12 short of the number needed to defeat the measure.

Earlier today, Governor-elect Deval Patrick urged lawmakers to defeat the measure by any means necessary to permanently end the debate in Massachusetts, the only state that allows gay marriage.

If the vote stands and the measure advances, it would be a major victory for Governor Mitt Romney, who leaves office in two days but is widely expected to run for president as a social conservative. Romney spearheaded a lawsuit that tried to force lawmakers to act after they adjourned a Constitutional Convention in November without voting on the proposal.

Backers of the proposed constitutional amendment collected more than 123,000 certified signatures in an effort to get the measure on the ballot. However, the initiative still needs the support of 50 lawmakers in two consecutive sessions.

Posted by aryan at 4:18 PM | Comments (0)

Legislature approves step toward ban on gay marriage

By Globe Staff

A constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage cleared a major hurdle in the Legislature this afternoon when 61 lawmakers voted to move the proposal forward. The measure, which only needed 50 votes to stay alive, must still be passed again in the next legislative session to make it on the ballot as a referendum in 2008.

The initiative was opposed by 132 lawmakers, 12 short of the number needed to defeat the measure. The vote came without debate.

The proposed constitutional amendment would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman and ban future same-sex weddings.

Immediately after the initiative advanced, lawmakers moved to recess the Constitutional Convention for an hour. Legislators could come back and reconsider the vote and kill the initiative.

Supporters of the ban hailed the vote as a victory.

"This is democracy in action," Kris Mineau of the Massachusetts Family Institute told the Associated Press. "It's not a vengeance campaign. It's not a hate campaign. It's just an opportunity for the people to vote."

Senator Sue Tucker, a Democrat from Andover, told the AP she voted against the amendment.

"I'm very proud that we took a vote," Tucker said. "I think we owed the people that. At the same time, I'm also equally proud of my 'no' vote."

Earlier today, Governor-elect Deval Patrick urged lawmakers to defeat the measure by any means necessary to permanently end the debate in Massachusetts, the only state that allows gay marriage.

If the vote stands and the measure advances, it would be a major victory for Governor Mitt Romney, who leaves office in two days but is widely expected to run for president as a social conservative. Romney spearheaded a lawsuit that tried to force lawmakers to act after they adjourned a Constitutional Convention in November without voting on the proposal.

Backers of the proposed constitutional amendment collected more than 123,000 certified signatures in an effort to get the measure on the ballot. However, the initiative still needs the support of 50 lawmakers in two consecutive sessions.

Posted by aryan at 2:38 PM | Comments (0)

Protestors for, against gay marriage converge on State House

(Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff)

Joshua Johanson demonstrated at the State House today supporting an initiative to ban gay marriage.

(Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff)

Supporters of gay rights protested across the street against the proposed constitutional amendment that would end gay marriage.

By Jonathan Wiggs, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

Protestors on both sides of battle over gay marriage converged on the State House today as lawmakers prepared to consider a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.

The activists gathered on opposite sides of Beacon Street, waving placards and chanting.

At the foot of the State House steps, about 75 to 100 people supporting the ban held signs that read, "One man and one woman = marriage" and “Civil Rights: Let us Vote.” The crowd chanted: “Let the people vote! Let the people vote!”

Across the narrow street, about 75 to 100 people against the ban raised their own signs that read, “Equal rights” and “Stop the hate.” They shouted: “Let the people marry! Let the people marry!”

A handful of police officers monitored the demonstrations, which were peaceful.

Lawmakers are scheduled to begin a Constitutional Convention at 2 p.m. Governor-elect Deval Patrick issued a statement today urging lawmakers to defeat the initiative.

Posted by aryan at 1:45 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick urges Legislature to defeat gay marriage ban

(Jonathan Wiggs/ Globe Staff)

Governor-elect Deval Patrick told reporters today that the Legislature should do whatever they can to kill a proposed ban on gay marriage.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

Governor-elect Deval Patrick issued a statement today urging lawmakers to defeat a proposed ban on gay marriage, saying that legislators should end the debate this afternoon by any means necessary when they meet for a Constitutional Convention.

Patrick asked lawmakers to kill the initiative if it comes to the floor, or to move to adjourn without considering the ban despite a recent decision in which the Supreme Judicial Court reminded legislators that they had a constitutional duty to allow the measure to come to a vote.

"I favor ending this petition initiative promptly," Patrick said in the statement. "If adjournment can accomplish that, so be it. If the Constitutional Convention chooses to vote on the merits, I want to be utterly clear that I believe a vote to advance this question to the 2008 ballot is irresponsible and wrong."

The Democrat, who takes office in two days, has largely stayed out of the roiling debate over the proposed gay marriage ban since his sweeping victory in November.

The full Legislature is scheduled to meet this afternoon for a Constitutional Convention to consider the initiative, which needs the support of 50 lawmakers in two consecutive sessions.

Backers of the proposed constitutional amendment, who collected more than 123,000 certified signatures to get the measure on the ballot, blasted Patrick's stance.

"The same court which gave Massachusetts same-sex marriage also requires a vote on citizen petitions; I respectfully state that Mr. Patrick is dangerously misguided in calling on the legislature to violate the constitution for any matter of 'conscience'," said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, in a statement. "This is not a question of conscience, it is a question of abiding by the clear directive of the constitution."

In a debate last June, Patrick said that he wished there weren't going to be a vote on same-sex marriage and likened the issue to a fight 40 years ago over interracial marriage. The US Supreme Court stepped in and struck down prohibitions in many states against blacks and whites marrying, he said, even though Congress and the public probably would not have done the same.

"There was a constitutional decision made," Patrick said of the 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision allowing same-sex marriage. "I think it was the right decision. Let's move on."

Governor Mitt Romney, who leaves office on Jan. 4, spearheaded a lawsuit charging that legislators subverted the state constitution Nov. 9 when they met and took no action on the voter-initiative petition. The Legislature voted, 109 to 87, to recess the Constitutional Convention before deciding whether to put the amendment on the 2008 ballot.

Romney, who is widely expected to run for president as a social conservative, was handed a symbolic victory last week by the Supreme Judicial Court. The justices ruled that while the court lacked the authority to order the Legislature to vote on the ballot initiative, they scolding lawmakers for shirking "their lawful obligations" by not voting.

Today is the last day of the legislative session. If lawmakers do not vote on the measure, the effort to ban gay marriage will be killed.

Posted by aryan at 1:26 PM | Comments (0)

Statement of Kris Mineau, Massachusetts Family Institute President

Today, Governor-Elect Patrick emerged from a meeting with House Speaker DiMasi urging the legislature to violate the clear mandate of the state constitution by avoiding, by any means possible, a vote on the marriage amendment.

"The same court which gave Massachusetts same-sex marriage also requires a vote on citizen petitions; I respectfully state that Mr. Patrick is dangerously misguided in calling on the legislature to violate the constitution for any matter of 'conscience’," said Kris Mineau, president, Massachusetts Family Institute and spokesman, VoteOnMarriage.org.

On December 27, the State Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the legislature is constitutionally-required to vote on the marriage amendment.

"This is not a question of conscience, it is a question of abiding by the clear directive of the constitution," said Mineau. "We are a Commonwealth of laws and our elected leaders above all must abide by the constitution."

The Governor-Elect will take his oath of office this Thursday.

Posted by aryan at 1:20 PM | Comments (0)

Governor-elect Deval Patrick's statement on today's Constitutional Convention

"I believe that adults should be free to choose whom they wish to love and to marry. The SJC's decision in Goodridge affirms that basic human right, and I support it.

"Above all, this is a question of conscience. Using the initiative process to give a minority fewer freedoms than the majority, and to inject the state into fundamentally private affairs, is a dangerous precedent, and an unworthy one for this Commonwealth. Never in the long history of our model Constitution have we used the initiative petition to restrict freedom. We ought not start now.

"For practical reasons as well, it’s time to move on. Whatever one’s views of marriage equality, all can agree that we have far more pressing issues before the Legislature and the Commonwealth. It serves no public interest to focus more time and attention on this issue when there are under-served and under-performing schools, an infrastructure showing signs of sustained neglect, gun and gang violence on the rise, jobs and people leaving the state, a growing homeless population, soaring health care costs, a looming deficit and a score of other serious challenges crying out for the attention and the creativity of the government and the people. We cannot in good conscience ask these unmet needs to wait while a few individuals try to insert discrimination into our Constitution.

"I favor ending this petition initiative promptly. If adjournment can accomplish that, so be it. If the Constitutional Convention chooses to vote on the merits, I want to be utterly clear that I believe a vote to advance this question to the 2008 ballot is irresponsible and wrong. Given the significant challenges we face on so many other fronts, I would be deeply disappointed in such a vote. It would do nothing more than condemn us all to more years of debate and expense on a matter that is legally and practically settled."

Posted by aryan at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)

SJC hears arguments in Pring-Wilson stabbing case

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

The prosecution met a skeptical Supreme Judicial Court this morning when it asked that the manslaughter conviction of former Harvard graduate student Alexander Pring-Wilson be reinstated.

Pring-Wilson, who has been out on $400,000 bail since his conviction was set aside, watched the 40-minute hearing with his parents as the justices rehashed the 2003 fight on a Cambridge street that left 18-year-old Michael Colono dead. Pring-Wilson testified during his 2004 trial that he stabbed Colono after the teenager and his cousin, Samuel Rodriguez, beat him after a brief argument.

This morning Justice Robert Cordy in particular had sharp questions for attorney Marguerite Grant as she argued on behalf of Middlesex County prosecutors, whose conviction was overturned when a lower court judge ruled that the jury should have known about the victim's criminal history. The court did not issue a decision.

Cordy said that Pring-Wilson was being pummeled on the ground by two people and that there was no way that the defendant could know that he was not going to be seriously injured.

"How is a person supposed to know this is all about non-deadly force?" Cordy asked. "What is a person supposed to do in those cases?"

While Grant acknowledged that the victim did have a criminal record, she argued that Pring-Wilson's own description of what happened in 2003 was enough for a conviction.

"The defendant took the stand at trial and confessed to events that amount to nothing less than manslaughter by excessive use of force in self defense," Grant said.

Pring-Wilson did not have the right to use a knife and stab Colono five times in less than seven seconds, Grant said, and the victim's past had nothing to do with that.

In effect, the justices were asking how they could be certain that the jury wouldn't have found Pring-Wilson innocent if they had known the victim had a history of violence.

Defense attorney Charles Rankin argued that the jury should have known about the past of both Colono and his cousin. Colono had been involved in a dispute with a cashier at a restaurant in which he broke a door, had threatened police at a housing project, and had been convicted of trespassing.

His cousin, Rodriguez, had a long history of violence which included crimes with knives, guns, and assaults, Rankin said.

Posted by aryan at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)

January 1, 2007

City’s first murder victim of 2007 is 14

By Mac Daniel and Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

The New Year was not even six hours old when 14-year-old Jason Fernandes was shot dead outside his grandmother’s house in Dorchester on Monday.

The eighth-grader at South Junior High School in Brockton, Boston’s first homicide victim of the year, was one of five people shot in three separate attacks, all of which occurred within a few blocks of one another in the span of 20 minutes, police said.

Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis vowed Monday to flood the neighborhood, which has been scarred by gun violence, with extra police patrols. He expressed outrage at the lack of cooperation from witnesses.

"It really is astonishing to me that a 14-year-old has been murdered and individuals who can help identify the person responsible have been unwilling to provide us with information," Davis said at a press conference at police headquarters.

Davis said there had been no arrests in the attacks, which appeared to be unconnected.

He said Fernandes and an 18-year-old, identified by relatives as Fernandes’s cousin, "Baby" Rezendes, were gunned down just before 5:45 a.m. after a dispute erupted at a house party on Clarkson Street.

"He was a good kid," Elisa Fernandes said of her brother, in a telephone interview Monday. "He didn’t even want to come to Boston. I should have never brought him here ... All I know is he’s a quiet kid. He doesn’t like partying a lot, and even when I do little family things with myself, he just stays in his room."

The slaying, in a neighborhood that absorbed much of Boston’s violence last year, rocked residents who were just waking up to the New Year on Monday.

It came just after the conclusion of one of the city’s bloodiest years in a decade and a little more than 12 hours after the final homicide victim of 2006 was shot near South Station. The 74 slayings recorded in Boston last year were one shy of the total in 2005.

This year's violence began at 5:22 a.m., when two men were shot and wounded in a house on Glendale Street. The men, one in his 60s, the other in his 20s, were shot after a dispute erupted at a party at the house, police said. Both victims, whom police did not identify, were expected to survive.

At 5:43 a.m., a 19-year-old man walked into Boston Medical Center with a gunshot wound to his toe. The victim, whom police did not name, told authorities he had been walking on Quincy Street when an unknown assailant shot him and fled in a car on Bowdoin Street.

Two minutes later, police responded to the Clarkson Street shootings.

Jason Fernandes was the second 14-year-old to be fatally shot in Boston in recent weeks. Emmanuel B. Saintil of Mattapan was shot in the chest three days before Christmas on Cummins Highway in Roslindale. He was walking home with his 13-year-old friend, who also was shot but survived.

Davis vowed a "strong and coordinated response, in our ceaseless efforts to end gun violence in our neighborhoods."

Staff writers Maria Cramer and Donovan Slack contributed to this report. Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com, Levenson at mlevenson@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:55 PM | Comments (0)

With minority support, Feeney elected city council president

By Donovan Slack, GLOBE STAFF

The Boston City Council elected Dorchester Councilor Maureen E. Feeney as its president Monday, signaling what some say is the rise to power of the council’s minority members and those representing the city’s most diverse neighborhoods.

The four minority councilors pledged their support to Feeney last week, giving her the leverage she needed to beat Councilor at Large Michael Flaherty, the incumbent. Flaherty, of South Boston, then decided not to run for reelection.

The minority councilors, Chuck Turner of Roxbury, Charles Yancey of Mattapan, and Councilors at Large Felix Arroyo and Sam Yoon, said they felt sidelined under Flaherty, with their proposed legislation often tabled in committees they had no control over and with Flaherty gaveling down their resolutions sometimes before they were even introduced, saying they were not germane to the council and wasted time.

Feeney, the first woman to lead the council since Louise Day Hicks in 1976, said Monday that hers will be a presidency of inclusion.

"This is a momentous day for the City of Boston," Feeney said. "It’s a message for the City of Boston. It’s a message that says we’re here to work together."

The council president effectively sets the council agenda by choosing the chairmen and chairwomen of committees and determining whether certain initiatives can be introduced. The president also becomes acting mayor in the absence of the mayor. There is no more pay for the position, though the president gets a bigger office and budget to hire more staff because of the added administrative duties.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)

Property taxes up again

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Massachusetts property owners will again see substantial increases in their property tax bills this year, even as home sales have cooled.

The average tax bill for a single-family home will rise to $4,003 in 2007, 5.3 percent more than last year and up 49 percent from the 2000 tax bills, according to a Globe examination of 298 of the state’s 351 cities and towns. Most of the new tax rates will go into effect in bills that are going out this week.

Homeowners in Boston, Fall River, and Wayland will see double-digit percentage increases this year, while several communities near Boston will see average increases of 3.6 percent or less, including Brookline, Lincoln, Newton, Salem, and Somerville.

The state’s highest average bill is in Weston, at $13,739, up 6.8 percent over 2006. The lowest is in Florida, a small town in the Berkshires, where the average tax bill will be $1,014, just 2.5 percent more than in 2006.

Of the 298 cities and towns examined, the Globe found that 281 of them are increasing their average tax bills in 2007. The increase continues a trend of recent years, when property taxes rose by about 5 percent annually. The biggest recent increase was in 2002, when taxes rose by 6.7 percent.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

New Year shootings leave one dead, four injured

A 14-year-old teen from Brockton was killed this morning and his 18-year-old cousin severely injured in one of five shootings throughout Dorchester, two of which appear to be connected to disputes at parties, police said.

Boston Police and witnesses said the 14 year old was standing at the corner of Hamilton and Clarkson streets when shots were fired. The two boys, who were attending a New Year's party at their grandmother's home on Clarkson Street, had just stepped outside when the shooting took place.

Family members said the shooting was unrelated to the party and appears to have been a random act. Boston police, however, said in a press release that the incident appears to be related to a dispute that erupted at the private house party.

Boston Police also said today witnesses are refusing to cooperate with investigators in the 14-year-old's death, prompting Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis to say, "It is astonishing to me that a 14-year-old has been murdered and individuals, who can identify the person responsible, have been unwilling to provide helpful information." Davis plans to hold a press conference later this afternoon.

Earlier, an unidentified man took himself to Boston Medical Center after telling police he had been shot in the toe somewhere on Bowdoin Street A half hour after that, police said two other people were shot at a house party on Glendale Street. One man was in serious but stable condition this morning and the other's injuries were non-life-threatening, according to police. That shooting also appears related to a dispute at the party, police said.

Posted by mdaniel at 12:06 PM