Local News Updates

« January 2007 | Main | March 2007 »

February 28, 2007

Father forgets infant, drives off

By April Simpson, GLOBE STAFF

ATTLEBORO -- After shopping with his sister at a Burlington Coat Factory store Tuesday evening, 34-year-old Olwagbeminiyi Abiodun unloaded several items from his shopping cart and drove off.

But he left something behind. His one-year-old son was sitting in the child seat of the cart.

"He thought he had put the child in the child safety seat prior to unloading the cart, and in fact he had not," said Police Sergeant James Keane. "They drove off."

Abiodun, of Providence, and his sister drove between 15 and 20 minutes before they realized the child was not in the car and frantically called the store.

The child had already been brought in from the cold by an unidentified woman who saw the tot in the shopping cart.

Store employees told Abiodun that police had been called and they had his son.

Police and state officials are crediting the good Samaritan with preventing a tragedy. Anyone with information about the woman is encouraged to call Detective James Cote at 508-222-1212.

"I want to thank that person," Keane said. "It appears it was an unfortunate accident that could have been very tragic that ended with a happy ending," Keane said.

Nonetheless, Abiodun was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to 2 years in prison.

Police called the state Department of Social Services and interviewed shoppers and store employees before transporting the baby to Sturdy Memorial Hospital, Keane said. At the hospital, police and DSS workers determined that Abiodun was the child’s father.

DSS officials also met with Abiodun and his wife in their home before determining that the child could remain with his family, said agency spokeswoman Denise Monteiro.

"We didn’t feel, at this point, that there are any future safety risks," she said.

Monteiro said she was glad the child was returned to Abiodun and his wife safely, but she emphasized that "any parent that leaves their child for a second is in danger" of having their child abducted.

"You never leave your child, even for a minute," Monteiro said.

Shoppers at South Attleboro Square were stunned that a father could forget about his child.

While shopping with her 2-year-old grandson this afternoon, 59-year-old Karen Brown said forgetfulness is not an excuse for leaving a child behind.

"I don’t know how anyone could forget their baby, even if he’s in a hurry," said Brown, an Attleboro resident.

Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

Social Services sees boost

By Patricia Wen, Globe Staff

Social workers at the Department of Social Services will soon have the equivalent of 12 additional full-time physicians, child psychiatrists, and other medical personnel to advise them on complex cases, new hires that come after two high-profile child abuse cases exposed the agency’s shortage of medical expertise, state officials said today.

The new medical input will come from a combination of new positions within DSS and the Department of Mental Health, two agencies that have pledged to work more closely in the future on high-risk cases. This means that the two agencies will have the equivalent of 16 full-time medical staff positions, up from four.

"The combination of medical services that we’ll be providing, and DMH support, will be an important contribution to increasing the safety of children with medical and psychiatric conditions," said DSS Commissioner Harry Spence following a public hearing at the State House.

The special hearing, held by the House Child Abuse and Neglect Committee, came three weeks after a Hull couple was arrested on murder charges for giving a fatal overdose of a psychotropic drug to their 4-year-old daughter, Rebecca Riley. Because of complaints that the parents abused and neglected their children, DSS staff was involved in monitoring the family when the girl died in December.

The psychiatrist who diagnosed Rebecca with bipolar disorder when she was 2 and prescribed her three psychotropic drugs has come under investigation by the state’s medical licensing board.

Speaking last night on WGBH’s "Greater Boston," Governor Deval Patrick said he considered asking for Spence’s resignation after the Riley case, but decided it would not be fair. "This is a distinguished profession. And I think it is right and wise to take the time to make a judgment on the facts and not in the heat of the moment."

Wen can be reached at wen@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)

Big Dig repair costs escalate

By Mac Daniel and Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority today approved an additional $6 million to pay for Big Dig repairs, increasing the price tag from last summer’s fatal tunnel ceiling collapse to $31 million -- with more potentially to come.

"I, sitting here today, can’t guarantee to the board that there wouldn’t be another increase requested," Big Dig project director Michael P. Lewis told Turnpike Authority board members, who unanimously approved the request.

State transportation officials said the rising cost reflects labor-intensive repairs to the massive tunnel system’s fundamental design, which engineers found necessary to ensure public safety after Milena Del Valle of Jamaica Plain was killed in the July collapse in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel.

Lewis said the additional $6 million would enable workers to finish the major remaining repairs within two weeks, as well as any subsequent repairs ordered by state transportation officials after final inspections.

But some Turnpike Authority board members were skeptical.

"It’s just growing and growing and growing. Is it coming to an end?" asked Mary Z. Connaughton of Framingham.

About a month after Del Valle’s death, Big Dig officials sought and received $15 million for fixes, but warned that the amount was a preliminary estimate. In December, the turnpike authority board approved another $10 million at the request of Big Dig officials.

The Turnpike Authority board’s chairman, John Cogliano, who presided over the aftermath of the tunnel collapse as transportation secretary under former governor Mitt Romney, said any initial estimates made on repair costs were based on limited information.

"If you go back to July, we didn’t know," he said. "We didn’t know what the problems were. I would be hard pressed to come up with an estimate back then."

Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com, and Raja Mishra at rmishra@globe.com

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. to get $4 million in disaster planning aid

By Globe Staff

Massachusetts will receive $4 million next year in federal disaster planning grants from the Department of Homeland Security.

The aid for the 2007 fiscal year is an increase in roughly $34,000 from the grants the state received last year.

Senator John F. Kerry said in a statement that the money will help cities and towns prepare for potential disasters by funding training and paying for equipment for first responders.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy added that more than five years after the 2001 terrorist attacks, many vital assets remain vulnerable to attack. "I will continue to push for more federal support to close those gaps," Kennedy said.

Posted by aryan at 5:59 PM | Comments (0)

Massive log crushes man's legs in Natick

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

A 30-foot-long log rolled over and crushed a man's legs as he was cutting down a pine tree this afternoon in Natick, a fire official said.

Firefighters used chainsaws to cut away limbs and airbags to lift the three-foot-wide log off of the man, who grimaced in pain, according to Natick Deputy Fire Chief Mike Slattery. Rescuers arrived shortly after 3:30 p.m., and it took about 15 minutes to free the man's legs.

"The work was slow," Slattery said. "We didn't want to injure him more."

The man, who authorities did not identify, appeared to have broken his legs in the mishap, Slattery said. He was rushed to Leonard Morse Hospital, which is the Natick campus of the MetroWest Medical Center.

The tree fell on a wooded tract of land along Indian Rock Road near the Natick-Weston town line. The private property is adjacent to Camp Nonesuch, a children's camp near Lake Cochituate owned by The Rivers School.

It was not clear whether the man was the property owner or a contractor, Slattery said.

Posted by aryan at 5:06 PM | Comments (0)

Prosecutor alleges slain 12-year-old fought her mother's killer

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

A 12-year-old Woburn girl fought for her life three years ago in a violent struggle against a convicted sex offender who is also charged with killing her mother, a prosecutor said today during opening statements in Middlesex Superior Court.

"It appears as if Alyssa Presti had heard something downstairs and interrupted the crime against her mother," said Assistant District Attorney Adrienne Lynch as she stood in front of a jury.

"Alyssa Presti put up a struggle," Lynch said. "She did not go easily."

Michael Bizanowicz, 44, has pleaded not guilty to killing Alyssa and her mother, Joanne Presti, 34. His lawyer, Stanley Norkunas, rejected the prosecution's claims.

Norkunas described the case against Bizanowicz as largely circumstantial. He said the DNA that investigators allege ties his client to the crime is immaterial because Bizanowicz and Presti had consensual sex.

Bizanowicz's arrest in connection with the January 2004 killings prompted a revision of the Commonwealth's sex offender laws.

Convicted of rape in 1981, Bizanowicz was registered as a Level 3 sex offender, which is considered the most likely to re-offend. Bizanowicz had registered with a Lowell address, but he was also living on and off with a girlfriend in Woburn, close to Presti's neighborhood. The law did not require Bizanowicz to register in Woburn.

Last year, lawmakers revised the law to better classify and track the most dangerous offenders.

Posted by aryan at 4:42 PM | Comments (0)

Turnpike extends Fast Lane discounts for another month

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board voted today to extend discounts for Fast Lane users for another month but stopped short of making the reductions permanent.

The discount saves commuters 25 cents off the $1 toll at the Allston-Brighton toll booths and 50 cents off the $3 tolls at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels. The program is expected to cost the state $10 million in the next fiscal year alone at a time when the Turnpike Authority is facing a $2.1 billion debt.

Earlier this month, Governor Deval Patrick killed a proposal to end all tolls west of Route 128. However, a spokesman for the governor said Monday that the administration supported the Fast Lane discount program and was working "to construct a long-term solution." The spokesman, Kyle Sullivan, would not be more specific.

In December, the Turnpike Authority board went against the recommendations of its staff and voted against to extend the discount program for two months.

In its meeting today, the board met for the first time with Patrick’s transportation secretary, Bernard Cohen, as a member.

After the meeting, Cohen said that the state is still trying to find a way to make the discount program permanent.

Posted by aryan at 3:30 PM | Comments (0)

Aircraft carrier JFK approaching Boston for final farewell

(Mark Wilson/Globe Staff)

Tom Walsh (left) and Jack Devlin (right) gaze out over the bow of the USS John F. Kennedy on the aircraft carrier's final trip this week to Boston. Walsh, from Groton, Mass., and Devlin, from North Andover, met when they both worked as radarmen on the ship in the late 1960s.

By Globe Staff

The USS John F. Kennedy is heading north today off the coast of Massachusetts as the aircraft carrier known as "Big John" prepares for its final stop in Boston before decommissioning.

The 1,052-foot-long carrier, named for the nation's 35th president, left Norfolk, Va., on Monday as it embarked on its last journey after nearly 40 years of service that included several deployments in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.

Globe photographer Mark Wilson is traveling aboard the USS JFK as it makes it final journey to Boston. To view photographs from the trip, click here.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take a final tour of the ship as it docks at the North Jetty in South Boston's Marine Industrial Park from Thursday through Sunday. Guests are expected to include members of the Kennedy family, political dignitaries, and former sailors.

By 8 a.m. Thursday, the carrier should be visible from Deer Island. At 8:30 a.m., spectators should be able to catch a glimpse of the ship as it heads to dock at the North Jetty at about 9:30 a.m.

The carrier will be open to the public from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. On the vessel's last visit to Boston in May 2005, about 60,000 people lined up as early as 2 a.m. in queues that grew to a half-mile long.

Posted by aryan at 2:21 PM | Comments (0)

Police: dead man in Dorchester was shot

By Globe Staff

Boston police announced today that the man found dead Tuesday night on Armandine Street in Dorchester had been shot.

The victim, whom police would describe only as a man in his late 20s or early 30s, was found dead inside a home at 63 Armandine St. at about 9:08 p.m.

On Tuesday night, police initially said that officers responded to reports that a man was in cardiac arrest. However, in a press release issued today, police said that officers responded to a radio call for a person shot.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. No other details were released. The man's death remains under investigation.

Posted by aryan at 1:01 PM | Comments (0)

Prosecutors drop charges again 3 MIT students in prank case

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Prosecutors dropped felony charges today against three MIT students accused of breaking into a campus building as part of a prank after a judge refused requests to dismiss the case.

From the bench, Judge Severlin B. Singleton III asked if the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had influenced the decision by the Middlesex district attorney to drop charges lodged by campus police after an October incident at the MIT Faculty Club.

Prosecutor Jessica Noble told the judge in Cambridge District Court that the three students were participating in the school's historic tradition of pranks known as "hacking" and would be dealt with by the school, as other hackers had been in the past.

Singleton refused to drop the case, however, and forced the district attorney to file what is called a "nolle prosequi," a motion that indicates that prosecutors decided not to pursue a criminal case.

According to the motion, Greg Morgan, the general counsel for the school, "requested the case be dismissed, so MIT may handle this matter internally and administratively, as they have done in past in similar situations." MIT Police Chief John DiFava told prosecutors that he also wanted the charges dismissed because the defendants did not have criminal records, and there was no damage to school property, according to the motion.

The students -- Matthew Petersen, 19, Kristina Brown, 19, and David Nawi, 29 -- could have faced 20 years if convicted.

"The defendants are gratified that the district attorney's office chose to [drop] the case," said attorney John M. Moscardelli, who represented Petersen.

Police said they caught the students on the sixth floor of the faculty club around 2 a.m. on Oct. 22, after the students pried open a wall panel and triggered an alarm. The students said they did not steal or damage any university property and were engaged in the "late-night exploration" of campus buildings that is a long-standing tradition at MIT.

Posted by aryan at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

Patrick defends budget before business leaders

By David Beard and Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick defended his first budget this morning before a crowd of more than 500 business leaders, saying his proposal to close corporate tax loopholes would simply require companies to pay their fair share of the cost of government.

But Patrick, whose $26.7 billion budget depends on $295 million from the loophole closures, seemed to make little headway with business leaders, who have sharply opposed the loophole closures.

Patrick was greeted at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast by a standing ovation, but the room at the Park Plaza Hotel quieted when he fielded questions about corporate taxes.

A $1.2 billion deficit forced tough choices, Patrick said, but in return for eliminating some tax breaks he vowed to create a state sales force and streamline the permitting process for businesses. He said his spending plan would take an "active collaboration" between business and government to be a success.

"The same old thing is not enough to move us forward," Patrick said.

Paul Guzzi, the chamber's president and chief executive officer, asked Patrick to reconcile his promise for job growth and economic development when he is proposing to increase taxes on corporations.

Patrick responded that the tax code is not always the bottom line. Many companies also look for infrastructure, quality schools, and other amenities that help businesses grow. Patrick cited a recent study that found that Massachusetts had the 47th lowest corporate tax burden in the nation.

The speech was largely an encore of the televised address he gave Tuesday night in Melrose. Patrick has made several radio appearances this morning and plans to unveil the specifics of his spending plan at noon.

After the speech, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Michael Widmer said Patrick's corporate tax plan is more than a closing of loopholes.

"It's a major change in the tax code," he said, but cautioned that if businesses are scared away from Massachusetts by the new tax policy, the losses in jobs will offset the gains in revenue.

"This will discourage job creation and exacerbate our long-term problems," Widmer said.

Material from the Associated Press is included in this report.

Posted by aryan at 9:46 AM | Comments (0)

Boston teachers reach tentative accord

By David Abel, GLOBE STAFF

After more than a year of tense negotiations and a threatened one-day strike, Boston teachers and the school system Tuesday night reached a tentative contact agreement that would boost teachers’ pay and have them contribute more to blunt the rising price of health insurance.

The agreement would raise teachers’ salaries between 13 and 14 percent over previously agreed-upon salary increases between September 2006 and August 2010. Over the same time, teachers would increase their contribution to health insurance premiums from 10 to 15 percent.

The agreement also allows for greater autonomy at 20 so-called superintendent’s -- or low-performing -- schools, enabling principals to extend their day, choose their curriculum, pay teachers for assuming extra responsibilities, and among other things, have more flexibility in hiring.

"Our prime goal was to fix underperforming schools," said Superintendent Michael G. Contompasis Tuesday night after school and union officials overcame their differences during a four-hour meeting at school headquarters on Court Street. "We think we have crafted an agreement that meets our needs and puts schools on the right track."

The Boston Teachers Union and the School Committee must approve the contract. Union leaders said they will recommend that members approve the pact when they vote on it on March 14.

The accord came on a day when a Suffolk Superior Court judge ruled the union must pay a $30,000 fine -- increasing by $10,000 a day -- for refusing to comply with a previous court order to rescind the union’s threat to strike.

The union suspended their threat to strike until members vote today. By the time members meet this afternoon, the fine against the union will have risen to $120,000, said union officials, who plan to appeal the decision.

"We take this as a real threat to unions everywhere," said Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers Union. "There isn’t a doubt that the threat of a strike brought us closer to a settlement."

Tuesday’s agreement also includes the school department’s commitment to maintaining small classes, with no increases in class-size limits at any grade level.

It provides for at least seven new pilot schools, one governed by the Boston Teachers Union, with additional compensation for some pilot school teachers who work extra hours.

The agreement also involves changes to the district’s performance evaluation process and a new program in which experienced teachers mentor new teachers.

"We believe this contract gives us the flexibility to hire top-notch educators who have the tools and resources they need to prepare our students for a successful future," Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a statement.

Maria Sacchetti of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 12:10 AM | Comments (0)

February 27, 2007

Victim still feels pain of shooting that killed her unborn child

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

When the man on the MBTA subway train yelled that someone had a gun, Hawa Barry, an immigrant from Guinea, could not understand him. As passengers all around her scrambled away or ducked, Barry, then 8 months pregnant, stayed in her seat, bewildered at the chaos.

Seconds later, she heard two shots, and a bullet ripped through her stomach, striking her unborn baby boy, she told a Suffolk Superior Court jury today. Two men, Andre Green, 22, of the South End, and Chimezie Akara, 23, of Roslindale, are on trial on charges of first-degree murder in her son’s death and could face life in prison if convicted.

Today, Barry lifted her shirt before hushed jurors and displayed the scars the bullet left when it entered and exited her body on the Orange Line train on Feb. 5, 2003.

"When I saw my clothes, I see the blood," she said in Fula, a major language in her West African homeland, as an interpreter standing next to her translated. "I feel the pain."

Barry, 34, cried softly through most of her 45 minutes on the witness stand, and told the jury that she could still remember the man who shot her.

"He had an ugly face," she said in a low voice.

Assistant District Attorney David E. Meier did not ask her to identify that man in court, though she was asked to identify a photo of him that was also shown to the jury.

In his opening statements two weeks ago, Meier said that both defendants were responsible for the shooting. Both men are charged because they shared intent, said Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

"Regardless of which man pulled the trigger, we allege that the other stood by, ready, willing, and able in achieving an outcome they both desired," Wark said.

Green’s lawyer, Stephen J. Weymouth, said today that his client was not the shooter and described him as devastated by the case. Akara’s lawyer, Robert L. Sheketoff, has said that Green was the shooter.

Both men are also charged with armed assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition.

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)

Sentence tossed in cop killing

By Suzanne Smalley and Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

An oversight by the US attorney’s office led a federal judge to throw out the life sentence of a man convicted in the death of a Boston police officer in 1991, outraging many in the department.

Legal specialists say it is unlikely Alfred W. Trenkler, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1994 for building the bomb that killed Officer Jeremiah J. Hurley Jr. and injured his partner, Francis X. Foley, will be freed at his April 4 resentencing.

But the Feb. 20 ruling vacating the sentence and the possibility of Trenkler receiving a lighter sentence prompted US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan to issue a public apology today.

"The US Attorney’s Office unintentionally failed to respond to the Court as required by two separate Orders," Sullivan’s statement reads. "We have begun an immediate internal review to determine how the office failed to comply with the Court’s Orders. There appears to have been a significant breakdown in communication."

Sullivan’s office twice did not address court orders seeking its response to a motion by Trenkler’s lawyers to throw out the life sentence. Trenkler’s lawyers argue that federal law allows only juries, not judges, to impose life sentences. In his case, the trial judge dismissed the jury after it convicted Trenkler, and the judge imposed the sentence. Sullivan’s office said that it will file a response by March 7 and that it had successfully opposed four challenges by Trenkler’s lawyers.

Thomas J. Nee, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, said that although he expects Trenkler to be resentenced to a significant time in prison, he is angry about the government’s failure to keep on top of the case.

"It does outrage me," Nee said. "The taking of a life during this terrible incident, especially the life of a Boston police officer, should be met with an equal justice."

Nee said that he is not as anxious as he would otherwise be, however, because Trenkler’s conviction stands and the federal judge who ruled on the sentence, Rya W. Zobel, still has the power to ensure that Trenkler spends the rest of his life in prison.

"We may not be able to call it a life sentence under technical terms," Nee said, "but certainly he should serve enough years that he will never be able to walk among good and decent people again."

Although lawyers interviewed last night said Trenkler will not get out of prison, Randy Gioia, a criminal defense lawyer, said the ruling "could be an apparent victory for Mr. Trenkler, because the judge has the discretion to sentence him to any number of years."

"His lawyers are probably going to argue that the judge has to impose a sentence for a term of years that would be less than life," Gioia said. "At that point, it gets very foggy as to what term of years would be less than a person’s life. I think that’s going to be the problem."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:42 PM | Comments (0)

Boston city councilor wants 911 to receive text messages, videos

By Globe Staff

Boston City Councilor Robert Consalvo plans to request a hearing Wednesday to discuss enabling the Boston Police Department's 911 emergency response system to receive text messages, videos and pictures.

Consalvo's order says that such capability would better equip the city to respond quickly to crime scenes. The councilor cites investigators' use of student camera phone images to identify suspects in the wake of the December riots at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a recent Franklin arrest based on YouTube video.

Consalvo said New York City recently announced plans to enhance its 911 center by enabling it to receive camera and video images taped by cell phones. The councilor said Philadelphia and Chicago are also considering adding the capability.

Posted by aryan at 6:28 PM | Comments (0)

Prosecutor: Man stabs own lawyer during rape trial

By Dan Muse, Globe Correspondent

A defendant accused of rape stabbed his own attorney today during routine jury selection, according to a spokesman from the Norfolk County District Attorney's office.

Spokesman Michael Connolly said that the defendant, Che Sosa, attacked his defense lawyer unprovoked at about 3:15 p.m., stabbing attorney John Courtney with a makeshift non-metal knife in the face and chest.

Courtney was rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

Sosa is accused of nine counts of aggravated rape that stem from a 2001 case and is being tried in Norfolk Superior Court. He has not been charged in connection with today’s stabbing, which is being investigated by State Police.

Court is scheduled to meet Wednesday and a judge will determine how to proceed in the rape trial.

Posted by aryan at 6:13 PM | Comments (0)

Former state trooper gets minimum sentence in underage Internet sex case

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

A federal judge gave the minimum sentence today to a former Massachusetts state trooper and decorated Army war veteran who admitted trying to solicit sex over the Internet from who he thought was a 14-year-old boy.

Brian O'Hare was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of five years in prison today in federal court in Boston after pleading guilty.

"The Internet has brought many wonderful things to the world, but it has also brought many vile things," said US District Court Judge George A. O'Toole Jr., moments before issuing the sentence.

O'Hare, 46, of Lancaster, came to court with his brother, sister, and sister-in-law. Dressed in a black suit, he stood next to his lawyer and gave a brief statement.

"I take full responsibility for my actions, and I want to apologize to my family for the embarrassment and shame I've caused,'' O'Hare said. He also apologized to the Army and the Massachusetts State Police.

Prosecutors alleged that in August 2005 O'Hare struck up a conversation with someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy in an America On-line chatroom titled "SCHOOLBOIS SHOWERSM4."

However, the person in the chatroom was actually an FBI agent working on a sting operation designed to catch on-line predators trying to lure underage people to have sex.

O'Hare chatted often with the fictitious teen for several months. He was arrested in February 2006 when he drove to a mall in Medford to meet him.

Posted by aryan at 4:36 PM | Comments (0)

Elderly man falls in Marshfield, lies on floor for 14 days

Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent

An elderly man fell and lay on the floor for two weeks in a small, unheated cottage in Marshfield until he was discovered today by a relative, a fire official said.

The 69-year-old man was semiconscious and had hypothermia, said Marshfield Fire Chief Kevin Robinson. The man, who authorities did not identify, was flown to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. His condition was not released. The Associated Press reported that the man’s name was Sean McKenny.

The relative stopped by the man's Brewster Road home after being unable to reach him in recent weeks. Robinson said the relative called fire officials at about 10:15 a.m. after finding the man on a bedroom floor.

It was not immediately clear how the man fell, or why he was unable to get up. The Associated Press reported that an empty gallon jug of water was found near the man and may have been within his reach.

Posted by aryan at 4:19 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick aims for symbolism with budget address in Melrose

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

In a purely political world, Melrose may not seem like the most obvious setting tonight for Governor Deval Patrick's budget address, the first major policy initiative of his fledgling administration.

The city's mayor, Robert J. Dolan, endorsed Patrick's rival, Thomas F. Reilly, in the primary. And Dolan was one of five delegates barred from the state Democratic convention in May because he supported Republican state Senator Richard R. Tisei in his successful bid for re-election.

But by leaving Beacon Hill and traveling seven miles north to the city of 28,000, Patrick is trying to signal that he is fulfilling one of his campaign promises to govern the entire state and not just Boston.

"We all know what he is going to say. Maybe a trickle of an increase in local aid," Dolan said today in a telephone interview. "But everyone is coming because he left the State House and he is going to tell us face to face."

Patrick has struggled, however, with symbolism in the first months in office, even when he said he was trying to be the governor of the entire state. He drew criticism for making trips in a State Police helicopter to North Adams and Cape Cod, and for the cost of his million dollar inauguration, which included events across the state and was paid for by private donors.

Kyle Sullivan, a Patrick spokesman, said in an e-mail that tonight in Melrose the governor "will begin to talk directly to citizens about his vision for the state budget and how we can begin laying the foundation for real change in Massachusetts."

The spending plan Patrick will unveil tonight must tackle a projected $1.3 billion budget gap and meet his campaign pledges to lower property taxes, improve education, bolster public safety, and expand the economy. Many of the details from the budget have already been reported, including proposals to increase funding for vaccinations and full-day kindergarten programs.

Patrick has announced that he will dramatically increase public health spending next year, adding $72 million to strengthen disease prevention services and provide universal state coverage for three new immunizations for children.

Administration sources also told the Globe last week that the governor would provide about $200 million more for public education next year, which is less than some communities had hoped. Patrick will propose spending $13 million to turn about 800 of the state's 1,500 half-day kindergarten classrooms into full-day programs, the sources said.

Although many of the details about the budget are known, Melrose is still hoping to fill its 1,000-seat Soldier and Sailors Memorial Building, Dolan said.

“Even though we are just seven miles north of Boston, outside of a natural disaster like the flood we had last year, governors don’t come here," Dolan said.

Officials from North Adams, Stoneham, Medford, Malden, Wakefield, Woburn, and an array of other cities and towns have already confirmed that they will attend, Dolan said. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino does not have plans to attend, according to his staff.

The gray granite theater known as Memorial Hall anchors downtown, sitting near City Hall and the firehouse on Main Street. It is home to the nation's oldest volunteer orchestra and hosts a jazz and blues festival and children’s theater events.

In fact, it is a building that Patrick has taken a special interest in, Dolan said. Former-governor Mitt Romney cut a $500,000 bond that had been designated to overhaul the theater's heating and air conditioning system.

Patrick restored funding for the project when he became governor, Dolan said.

Posted by aryan at 3:36 PM | Comments (0)

Government accepts no blame for wrongful convictions in 1965 mob slaying

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

A Justice Department lawyer argued today that the FBI had no duty to share internal documents that may have helped four men prove they were innocent of a 1965 gangland slaying and insisted the government can't be blamed for the state's wrongful conviction of Joseph Salvati, Peter J. Limone, Henry Tameleo and Louis Greco.

"The United States is not liable to plaintiffs because they were convicted as a result of a state prosecution,'' said Justice Department attorney Bridget Bailey Lipscomb. "The FBI did not initiate this prosecution and there is no duty of the FBI to submit to state or local governments any of its internal files.''

US District Judge Nancy Gertner noted that the state had been unable to solve the 1965 slaying of Edward "Teddy'' Deegan in a Chelsea alley until FBI agents recruited Joseph "The Animal" Barboza as a witness and turned him over to state officials to testify against the four men. She also noted that FBI agents had interviewed Barboza 34 times before he testified before the state grand jury and knew he had vowed not to implicate one of his friends, who was a suspect in the slaying and was also an FBI informant.

Lipscomb said there was no evidence that the FBI agents "were even paying attention" to what was happening in the Deegan case.

But lawyers for the four men argued that FBI agents who recruited Barboza engaged in obstruction of justice and supported perjury by turning Barboza over to the state while knowing they had evidence in their own files that he was lying.

Boston lawyer Michael Avery said Boston FBI agents knew that FBI Barboza lied when he named the four men as Deegan's killers and his clients were "acceptable collateral damage" in the agency's Mob crackdown.

"The notion that the FBI is not responsible for the initiation of this prosecution... is frivolous," Avery said.

The courtroom was packed with families and friends of Salvati and Limone. Both men are here with their wives and children.
Also present were three congressman who sat on a congressional committee that conducted a two-year investigation into the FBI's mishandling of informants and focused on the Salvati case: Indiana Republican Dan Burton, who previously chaired the committee; William Delahunt, a Quincy Democrat; and Stephen F. Lynch, a South Boston Democrat.

Burton, who arrived on a red-eye flight from California this morning, said that after reviewing all of the evidence he "became absolutely convinced that it was a horrible miscarriage of justice for Joe Salvati to be convicted of the Deegan murder. I believe he deserves restitution for the 30 years he spent away from his family. I think justice requires he get compensation."

He said he believes all four men were wrongly convicted, but noted the committee had focused mostly on Salvati.

Delahunt said he came to listen to closing arguments "to express to the families our sorrow for what they have had to go through all of these years because of a failure of their government."

Lynch, who was a member of the congressional committee that investigated the FBI's role in the case, said, "It's important for moral support for the families to be here and important to shine the light on the case."

He added that the government can never adequately compensate the men for the decades they spent in prison, but "we can give them as much justice as we can."

Associated Press contributed to this story.

Posted by jwalsh at 2:50 PM | Comments (0)

Ammunition found at Oxford HS

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Authorities locked down Oxford High School today after a staff member found live ammunition inside the building, according to a spokesman for Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early, Jr.

Oxford police and other public safety agencies rushed to the school and were in the process of searching lockers, backpacks, and cars driven by students.

School officials planned to send students home once the search had been completed, according to an aide to School Superintendent Ernest Ross. No weapons were found near the ammunition, the aide said.

Oxford is about 50 miles southwest of Boston in Worcester County.

Posted by aryan at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)

Three teens charged with stabbing at Back Bay station

(Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority)

Transit officials said that the T's surveillance camera system helped catch three teenagers who are accused of stabbing a 17-year-old at the MBTA's Back Bay station last week. MBTA officials said the above photo shows Manuel Valette, 17, moments before he is accused of joining a crowd that attacked a 17-year-old on Feb. 19.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Transit officials today announced the arrest of three teenagers who are accused of stabbing a 17-year-old nine times at the MBTA's Back Bay station last week.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority spokesman Joseph Pesaturo said today that investigators believe the attackers are associated with a gang based in New York City.

"The victim, they have determined, has no ties to a gang," Pesaturo said. "But the victim apparently had trouble with a person associated with the gang, or who is in a gang."

The victim, whom authorities have not identified by name, is from West Roxbury. He has been released from the hospital and is recovering from the injuries he suffered during the Feb. 19 attack. All three of the suspects have been charged with assault with intent to murder, said Pesaturo.

Two of the teens arrested are juveniles and their names are not being released, Pesaturo said. They are both expected to appear today in Boston Juvenile Court.

One of the juveniles is 16 years old, lives in Charlestown, and attends Brighton High School, he said. He was arrested Monday outside his home, Pesaturo said.

The second suspect is 15 years old, lives in Dorchester, and is a student at English High School, Pesaturo said. He was taken into custody when he appeared in Boston Juvenile Court on another matter Monday, Pesaturo said.

Pesaturo identified the third suspect as Manuel Valette, 17, a student at East Boston High School who lives in Charlestown and was arrested at the Community College Orange Line Station. Valette is scheduled to be arraigned today in Boston Municipal Court.

The stabbing occurred around 4 p.m. at the Back Bay Orange Line station and involved as many as 10 attackers, police have said. Pesaturo said today the suspects were identified with the help of the T's surveillance camera system.

Posted by aryan at 12:03 PM | Comments (0)

Board of Ed approves Chinese immersion school

By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff

The state Board of Education voted 7-2 today to approve Massachusetts's first foreign-language immersion charter school, paving the way for a facility where mostly English-speaking students will learn core subjects in Mandarin Chinese.

The Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School is slated to open this fall and will be designed both for students adopted from China and others with no direct connection to the country. Proponents of the school say it is for students who need to master Chinese to succeed in the future workplace.

The 300-student school is expected to be located in a yet-to-be-determined Western Massachusetts town close to Interstate 91, and would serve pupils from more than 40 towns and cities, including Amherst, Northampton, Agawam, and Springfield.

Posted by aryan at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)

February 26, 2007

Students to learn in Chinese

By Jenna Russell, Globe Staff

Children would spend the bulk of their school days speaking and learning core subjects in Mandarin Chinese in a proposed charter school founded by parents and educators who say children need to master Chinese to succeed in the future workplace.

The state Board of Education is expected tomorrow to approve the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School, where even math, science, and history would be taught in the foreign language. The youngest students, who are most easily able to pick up a language, would learn three-quarters of the time in Chinese; as children move to higher grades, they would be taught in Chinese half to one-quarter of the time. They will learn to write as well as speak the language.

Program leaders expect to serve a mix of students, including some adopted from China and others with no direct connection to the country, whose parents may be interested because they travel to China for work.

"In the future, no matter what career path you choose, you’re going to see Chinese people, and to be able to know that language is important," said Jean Pao Wilson, a parent from Easthampton and one of the school’s organizers.

The school, which would ultimately serve 300 mostly English-speaking students, would be the first foreign language immersion charter in Massachusetts, a spokeswoman for Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said. Driscoll has endorsed the school’s proposal. Boston has three public dual-language schools, specializing in Spanish, but the proposed charter may be the first public immersion school using Chinese in the state, state officials said.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

Hillman to be hired as marshal

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

Former state representative and lieutenant governor candidate Reed V. Hillman is expected to soon land a much-coveted political appointment as US marshal for Massachusetts, leading state GOP sources said.

The White House is on the verge of announcing that Hillman, 58, a former head of the State Police, will be named to the $130,000-a-year patronage post, which has been vacant for the past 18 months, the sources said. The position was last held by Anthony Dichio, who was dismissed in August 2005 after a Justice Department report found he routinely failed to work full work weeks and had misused his official vehicle.

Hillman said today that he was unaware of any pending announcement, but confirmed that he would take the job if offered. "Anything on that will have to come from the White House," said Hillman, who stepped down as State Police commander in 1999 and then represented Sturbridge in the House of Representatives for six years. "All I know is that I am in the mix with four others."

But two leading Massachusetts Republican officials who have followed the appointment process said the White House has decided to give Hillman the job and will make an announcement within days.

"It’s a matter of paperwork," said one of the sources, who has been involved in the appointment process and confirmed that the Massachusetts Republican leadership has lined up behind Hillman. "All the appropriate people agree that he’s the right person."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)

Cuts run deep for Kirwan

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff

After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Leslie Kirwan marshaled her staff at the Massachusetts Port Authority to assess the financial damage.

As the agency’s budget chief, she spearheaded the creation of a restructuring plan that ultimately helped Logan International Airport regain its footing but required deep layoffs. After dismissing more than a dozen underlings, Kirwan assembled her department to discuss the situation and broke into tears.

"I think the fact that she was as distressed as she was by the layoffs was an indication of how much she valued and respected each member of her staff, and also how she understood how essential it was to do this reduction if the authority was to be financially viable," said Elizabeth Taylor, Massport’s current director of finance.

Kirwan, now Governor Deval Patrick’s budget czar, is no stranger to extraordinary financial problems -- or the pain of grappling with them. Her latest challenge is as daunting as any she’s faced. Tomorrow, she must turn out a budget that tackles a projected $1.3 billion budget gap and helps meet Patrick’s campaign pledges to lower property taxes, improve education, bolster public safety, and expand the economy.

Kirwan, the state’s first female administration and finance secretary, is also charged with leading the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority board, which is implementing the state’s controversial and highly experimental health reform plan. She has been working to become an expert in a new field even as she helps to shape it.

And as her new boss has repeatedly pointed out during his first weeks in office, Kirwan is obliged to monitor more than 30 other boards through a designee -- a situation that he hopes to change through his restructuring of state government.

"It’s been a real challenge," Kirwan acknowledged in a recent interview at her State House office. "We’re all spread very thin. Sometimes we all get a little hysterical around here. ... We’re just starting to know the answers, and not just all the questions."

Patrick, who surprised Kirwan by hiring her soon after he met her in late November, said his new budget aide understood what she was getting into.

"I would say when she came into the interview she still wasn’t sure that she wanted the job," he said recently. "Of the many candidates, she appreciated the enormity of the challenge."

Kirwan, 49, speaks quietly but steadily and with confidence, often employing a light, dry sense of humor. A stuffed Grinch, her "budget season mascot," sits on the chair next to her desk.

"The A&F secretary is basically the person at the cocktail party who takes away everyone’s drink and tells them it’s time to go home," said Charlie Baker, chief executive of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, who served in the post under former governors William F. Weld and Paul Cellucci and hired Kirwan as his undersecretary in 1995.

Growing up in Cambridge, Kirwan’s younger brother Robert recalls her sitting in her bedroom listening to Celtics games on the radio, recording every player’s every shot in a homemade box score. She also made audio recordings of 20 or so Sherlock Holmes movies on television and memorized every word, he said, so she could say the lines before the actors did the next time it came on. "We thought she was a magician of some kind," he said, "but what it really was was incredible focus."

After graduating from Harvard, Kirwan landed a position as an aide in the Cambridge mayor’s office, where she met her husband, Kenneth Goode, now a vice president of business development at MassDevelopment. They live in Arlington and have two boys.

During her first year on the job, Proposition 2-1/2 passed, and Kirwan found herself fascinated by the law’s financial impact on communities.

Realizing she had found work she loved, she enrolled at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and after graduation landed a job in the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services. Under the late Ed Collins, her mentor and predecessor as deputy commissioner, she worked with local leaders from across the state on financial planning, property tax classification, and other issues.

North Adams Mayor John Barrett III said local leaders who felt financially strapped and ignored during the early years of the Weld administration saw Kirwan as a critical link to state government -- someone who came to their meetings, returned their phone calls and offered sympathy without caving in to their demands.

The relationships and experience she built during those years may prove an asset to Patrick, a political novice who promised during the campaign to help improve the relationship between state and local government.

But while Kirwan was at Massport, she clashed with a state senator from East Boston over the relationship between the authority and the communities in his district, which hosts Logan. Now the Senate president, Robert E. Travaglini, initially expressed frustration over Kirwan’s appointment, sources told the Globe late last year. But aides to both say they have regular meetings and are getting along well.

Patrick’s financial agenda, however, has already had some setbacks. His municipal relief package, released earlier this month, met with criticism in the Legislature. And Patrick’s proposal to raise $295 million next year by closing so-called corporate tax loopholes has provoked fury from the business community.

Kirwan is reluctant to make lofty promises about the governor’s first budget. Only over time, she said, can Patrick fulfill his longer-term promises to make government more efficient and to improve the state’s economy.

"We’re going to make a really good stab, a first pass at getting the budget balanced in a non-gimmicky way and make a good-faith first step to accomplishing the governor’s priorities," she said. "And that’s going to take a whole bunch of tools -- it’s not going to be one big solution."

Lisa Wangsness can be reached at lwangsness@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:27 PM | Comments (0)

Winchester mother pleads not guilty to kidnapping and reckless endangerment

By Globe Staff

A Winchester mother pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and reckless endangerment today after prosecutors alleged she was found Friday night with two missing toddlers, one of whom was her own son.

Police arrested Jodi Asaro, 35, at about 11:45 p.m. after she was found driving in Melrose with her 18-month-old son, James, and Owen Henry Thomas, a 17-month-old boy she had been baby-sitting earlier that day. The children had been reported missing at 7 p.m., and Asaro's husband had been unable to get in touch with her.

The Massachusetts State Police activated an Amber Alert at 11:20 p.m., which included information about Asaro's car, and she was quickly located on the Lynn Fells Parkway. The children were not physically harmed.

Asaro, who appeared in Woburn District Court, had been released on $1,000 bail over the weekend. She is scheduled to appear again in court on April 9.

Posted by aryan at 5:45 PM | Comments (0)

City officials pick new search committee for Boston schools chief

By Maria Sacchetti, Globe staff

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the school committee today named a seven-member search committee to find a new schools superintendent, a month after the first pick, Manuel J. Rivera, abruptly pulled out.

The committee is a diverse mix of members, from a pastor who is also on the school committee to a sociology professor and parents. It includes some people who were on the previous committee as well as new faces, but it has five fewer members than the previous search.

Cleve Killingsworth, the co-chair during the last search, will now lead the search with co-chair Rev. Gregory Groover, a new school committee member. Killingsworth is president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Groover is pastor of the Charles Street AME Church.

Killingsworth could not be reached for comment but he said in a prepared statement that the search would remain confidential. City Councillor Michael F. Flaherty and others have called on the search to be more open to allow public scrutiny of the final candidates.

School Committee chairwoman Elizabeth Reilinger, who was under pressure to relinquish control of the new search, will serve as a regular search committee member. After Rivera pulled out, four city councillors called for Reilinger to step down as head of the new search, which she did. Rivera said Reilinger was not the main reason for his departure.

Today, she was upbeat.

"We're not losing any time," Reilinger said in a telephone interview. "We’re still looking for the very best candidate there is."

The other four members are Boston University President Robert A. Brown; Jorge Martinez, director of Project RIGHT, a nonprofit focused on youth violence and other issues; Klare Shaw, a senior associate with the Barr Foundation, a private foundation devoted primarily to education and the environment in Boston; and Miren Uriarte, a sociology professor at UMass Boston and director of the Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy.

Posted by at 5:15 PM | Comments (0)

Court documents: student stabbed in BC dorm over bleached laundry

By April Simpson, Globe Staff

The stabbing of a 19-year-old student in a Boston College dormitory this weekend was sparked by a fight between two women over whether one had bleached the other's laundry, according to documents filed today in Brighton District Court.

Diana Mirambeaux-Saker accused her classmate, Brianna L. Jones, 19, of bleaching her clothes in a washing machine on Friday night, and the pair began to fight. According to the documents, Mirambeaux-Saker grabbed Jones by the collar of her sweatshirt and threatened her.

Jones fought back, according to the documents, choking and punching Mirambeaux-Saker. Then, another Boston College student, Kevin Gordon, 19, jumped in and punched Jones in the face, according to the documents.

At some point during the fight, Jones is accused of stabbing Mirambeaux-Saker twice in the chest with a knife. While witnesses did not report seeing a blade, a trail of blood was visible on the first-floor of Vanderslice Hall after the fight, according to the documents.

Jones pleaded not guilty today at her arraignment in Brighton District Court. She is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and aggravated assault.

Mirambeaux-Saker was treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Posted by aryan at 3:55 PM | Comments (0)

Couple saves family of four from Lowell blaze

By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent

A couple rescued a family of four from a burning building in Lowell early this morning when they kicked in a bedroom window and pulled two children from their beds, including a baby asleep in a crib.

Ronald Garber and his girlfriend, Robin Baker, noticed that their three-family apartment building on Mission Place was on fire at about 7:25 a.m. and hurried down the stairs, said Lowell Deputy Fire Chief Phil Lemire. On the way out of the building, the couple noticed that their first-floor neighbors were still fast asleep, and they broke in to save them.

"If they didn't do what they did, there's a strong likelihood that there would have been fatalities," Lemire said.

When firefighters arrived, all residents had been evacuated from the building. The family of four was taken to Saints Medical Center and treated for smoke inhalation. No one was seriously injured, Lemire said.

It took firefighters more than two hours to bring the flames under control. Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire.

Posted by aryan at 3:05 PM | Comments (0)

Truck driver killed in Westport accident

By Dan Muse, Globe Correspondent

The driver of a tractor-trailer was killed today when his truck overturned on Interstate 195 in Westport.

The man's truck flipped onto the median of I-195 near Exit 10 at about 11:15 a.m., according to State Police. It was not immediately clear if other vehicles were involved in the crash.

State Police and the Westport Fire Department responded to the scene. Officials did not release the name of the driver, who died at the scene.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

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

Van and train collide in Reading

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A slow-moving MBTA commuter train collided with a van that had skidded into a rail crossing in Reading this morning but caused no serious injuries, according to police and transit officials.

The accident took place just after 8 a.m. near the intersection of Main and Ash streets, about 800 yards from the Reading MBTA station on Lincoln Street. The outbound train was traveling about 10 mph at the time of the crash, according to Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

The driver told police the van slid into the crossing after she applied the brakes, Pesaturo said in an e-mail. While there were no visible signs of injury, the driver and a few passengers from the van were taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

Posted by aryan at 1:26 PM | Comments (0)

Stepson held in murder of 79-year-old in Arlington

By Maria Cramer and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

When police responded to frantic 911 calls in Arlington this morning, officers allege they encountered a 41-year-old man running through the falling snow in his underwear who was covered in blood.

Back at Albert Kleszics's home, police say they found a trail of violence: His 79-year-old stepfather, Arthur Sullivan, had been stabbed to death in bed. Police allege the suspect's 81-year-old mother, Olga Kleszics, was slashed in the head when she tried to stop the attack by her son.

"She wasn't the main target," said Arlington Police Captain John Serson today a press conference.

Olga Kleszics ran from the house they shared and took refuge with neighbors, who called 911 at about 6:45 a.m.

Albert Kleszics jumped out of a window after the stabbings and ran several blocks, Serson said. Police arrested him after what they described as a violent struggle.

Police have not indicated what may have motivated today's violence. Albert Kleszics, who suffered cuts on his stomach, and his mother were both taken to Lahey Clinic in Burlington. Police did not say what caused his injuries.

Investigators have not yet determined what they allege Albert Kleszics used to cut his stepfather and mother. Serson said that officers have responded to the house in the past, but he declined to describe the nature of the calls.

Albert Kleszics is unlikely to be arraigned today because of his injuries, Serson said.

Posted by aryan at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)

NY college president tapped to lead Lesley University

(Lesley University)

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

A state college president from New York with strong New England ties will become Lesley University's next president, the Cambridge school announced today.

Joseph B. Moore, president of Empire State College since 2000, will assume his new job at Lesley's Cambridge campus on July 10. He replaces Margaret A. McKenna, who during her 21-year tenure transformed a teacher college of just a few hundred students into a liberal arts university of 12,000.

"Dr. Moore's passion, knowledge and skills in higher education will play an enormous role in building on a strong foundation of excellence in teacher education, human services, the arts, environmental studies and other fields," said Donald Perrin, chairman of the Lesley University Board of Trustees, in a prepared statement.

As president of Empire State, Moore focused on strengthening programs for adult learners and expanding the range of web-based distance learning programs. The state college has 35 locations in New York state and five international locations.

Moore would bring a similar focus on adult learners to Lesley, which has been running its teacher-training graduate program in 150 locations in 23 states.

"The unique needs of teachers in Lesley’s graduate programs, and the national scope of its full range of graduate programs, demand we continue to examine opportunities in technology to improve access without sacrificing Lesley’s reputation for effective pedagogy,” Moore said in a prepared statement.

Prior to Empire State, Moore served as provost and vice president of academic affairs at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania. Moore earned a Bachelor's of Arts in English from the University of Massachusetts, Master's in English from the University of New Hampshire, and a doctorate in education administration from the University of Vermont.

"In presentations on campus as a finalist, he electrified this community with his thoughtful insight into Lesley's mission and future, his passion for education, and his humor," said said Deborah Raizes, a Lesley trustee and chair of the search committee, which included other trustees, administrators and faculty members.

Moore was among three finalists for the job.

Posted by aryan at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

February 25, 2007

Soldier from Danvers killed in Panama crash

By Michael Naughton, Globe Correspondent

Brad A. Svoboda wanted to see the world, and as a US Army reservist, he did.

"He was courageous. He traveled all over the world doing humanitarian missions. He had friends all across the world," said his sister, Kelly Cison.

Svoboda, a 29-year-old Danvers native, was killed Thursday when a tractor-trailer crashed into his Humvee in northwestern Panama near the town of Miramar.

He had arrived in Panama Feb. 12 as part of a humanitarian aid project setting up a camp for more troops who were expected later, said his mother, Mary.

After completing his military service, Svoboda had planned to continue to serve his country. He recently applied for jobs with the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was waiting to hear back, his mother said.

Svoboda was inspired to join the Army after his older brother, Robert, an Army major stationed in Afghanistan, had done so. "He looked up to his older brother," his mother said.

An outdoor enthusiast, Svoboda enjoyed hiking, skiing, and traveling. As part of his military service, he had served in Bosnia and Iraq and had traveled to Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Europe.

"He just wanted to see the world, and he enjoyed what he did to help people," his mother said. "He was very much a people person."

Svoboda graduated from Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody in 1995. He earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Salem State College in 2005 and a year later earned his master’s degree in strategic studies from the University of Wales at Aberystwyth.

Army reservist Christopher Conn, of California, also was killed in the crash. Two other reservists were injured, as was a Panamanian traveling in the Humvee and the driver of the truck, the US Embassy said.

In addition to his mother, brother and sister, Svoboda leaves his father, Alexander.

The family is planning funeral services.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

Governor plans to boost public health dollars

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe staff

Governor Deval Patrick announced Sunday that his budget would dramatically increase public health spending next year, adding $72 million to strengthen disease prevention services and provide universal state coverage for three new immunizations for children, including a vaccine to help protect girls from the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

The proposed 15 percent increase for the Department of Public Health, part of the spending plan Patrick will unveil Tuesday, also includes funding for a wide array of disease prevention programs, including an additional $12 million for smoking prevention and cessation, and expands early intervention programs for toddlers and infants.

The announcement delighted public health advocates, who have seen the state’s prevention programs depleted by budget cuts in recent years.

"This is very heartening news," said Harold Koh, an associate dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, who served as commissioner of the state Department of Public Health from 1997 to 2003. "These priorities are a major step forward toward reaffirming the priority of public health in our state. We have so much potential with respect to prevention that has been untapped."

But the news was also unexpected in light of the projected $1.3 billion budget gap the state is facing this year. The Globe reported Sunday that Patrick’s budget would include little additional money for the state’s human service agencies.

"Most of these programs are deserving. The question is, where do you put your priorities?" said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "I am surprised, given the tight budget, that they’ve been able to find this much money."

In a statement Sunday, Patrick cast the decision as financially prudent, but did not explain how he would pay for it.

"These programs and services encourage healthy living practices and can prevent serious health problems in the future," the statement said. "These investments not only save lives, but also reduce treatment costs in the future."

The governor’s office said his budget for the 2008 fiscal year, which begins July 1, would:

Increase funding for early intervention programs by $3.8 million, which would provide services of social workers, developmental specialists, and other therapists to young children under 3 to meet the expected 2.5 percent increase in demand next year.

Increase funding for health promotion and disease prevention by $21.6 million, a 168 percent increase over this fiscal year, according to the governor’s office. Various programs would be consolidated under a single program to improve its reach and efficiency, Bigby said. Among the efforts are breast cancer prevention, prostate cancer screening, stroke awareness, hepatitis C prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, and suicide prevention. The $12 million increase for the state’s smoking prevention and cessation program would be the largest since 1999, according to the governor’s office.

Increase spending on the state’s universal immunization program by $24.8 million, a 67 percent increase over this fiscal year, to add three new vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the governor’s office, the money would provide 71,334 infants with a vaccine for rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhea and vomiting; 108,188 children with a vaccine that prevents bacterial meningitis; and 72,126 girls between the ages of 9 and 18 with a human papilloma virus vaccine, which helps prevent sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

Globe correspondent Erin Conroy contributed research to this story.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:42 PM | Comments (0)

Old church saved

By James Vaznis, GLOBE STAFF

EPSOM, N.H. -- Dozens of people clutching cameras, camcorders, and cups of hot coffee gathered atop a snowy hill early Sunday to welcome an aging church to its new home.

Inch by inch, the 145-year-old building came into view as a truck tugged it up Route 4.

"It’s here, it’s here," exclaimed Virginia Drew, who has lived in Epsom more than 20 years. "How unreal does this feel? It’s like we saved somebody’s life by bringing it here."

Just 12 days ago, after nearly two years of heated debate, a slim majority of voters approved saving the white clapboard building from demolition by having the town take ownership of it. The town had to move the church from its former location about a mile west by Thursday, because Cumberland Farms is building a gas station and convenience store on the old site.

In a town dotted with chicken and dairy farms and known for its frugality, the saving of the church is considered a huge victory for preservationists as the Granite State battles the loss of rolling pastures, field stone walls, and century-old barns to cookie-cutter subdivisions and strip malls.

To win voter support, preservationists in the town of 4,500, located about 20 minutes east of the state’s capital, appealed to their neighbors’ pragmatism.

The church, which was vacated by an evangelical congregation that outgrew the space, was put next to a new library, in an area where the town is building a center for town government. Selectmen hope to turn the church into a meetinghouse and add an addition to it for town offices, which might end the need to rent office space. The estimated construction cost is about $900,000.

Even opponents of the acquisition pitched in with Sunday’s move, much like a neighbor helping a farmer rebuild a fallen fieldstone wall after a winter thaw.

Herb Bartlett, an 80-year-old contractor, brought along his excavator and loader, just in case the truck and church got stuck going up the dirt road to the building’s final resting place.

"We’re all friends," said Bartlett, who campaigned against saving the church because he believed it was a waste of tax money. "Now that it’s happening, I kind of like it."

The move, which temporarily closed a portion of one of the main roads between Concord and Portsmouth, went without a hitch, and there was no need for the heavy machinery.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)

Candle Caused Fatal Fire

Boston fire officials said today that a candle burning in a bedroom sparked a three-alarm blaze that killed two Boston University students and critically injured a third in an Aberdeen Street apartment early Saturday morning.

Rhiannon McCuish, 21, of Mashpee and Stephen Adelipour, 21, of Great Neck, N.Y., died in the fire, which was so fierce it burned the roof off the Audubon Circle condominium building, fire officials said. A third victim, identified by his family as Steven Boursiquot, 21, of Dix Hills, N.Y., was listed in critical condition yesterday at Massachusetts General Hospital. About 30 tenants of the three-story off-campus building were displaced by the fire that caused an estimated $1 million in damage.

NStar had cut power to the building about 9 p.m. Friday to fix an underground cable, and fire officials were quickly able to rule out many possible electrical causes to the fire, said Stephen MacDonald, a Boston fire department spokesman.

"It's a process of elimination,'' said MacDonald who added that burn patterns also provided evidence to fire investigators that a candle had started the blaze.

MacDonald credited NStar workers with getting people out of the building and firefighters and emergency medical technicians for finding and helping Boursiquot.

"It was unfortunate we had two deaths, but we had a lot of people who lived because people did their jobs,'' said MacDonald.

Yesterday on the Boston University campus, students remembered McCuish as kind, gifted, intelligent and fun. A 2004 graduate of Mashpee High School, she recently joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters association to mentor a young girl.

Adelipour, who was also called Stefan, was the second eldest of four boys. A world traveler, he planned to have a career in real estate.

“Everybody loved and adored him, they wanted to be around Stefan because he was funny, kind and intelligent,’’ said his aunt, who asked not to be identified. She said Adelipour loved basketball, skiing and skydiving. He recently visited New Zealand, Australia and Vietnam. “He had such a zest for life,” she said.

During a weekly service at Boston University's Marsh Chapel, attendees were asked to reflect on the tragedy.

"We'll keep praying for them and their families,'' said Peter Nguyen, 23, a Boston University alumnus who attended the service.

Posted by dfilipov at 2:50 PM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2007

2 dead, 30 displaced by Fenway Fire

By Kathy McCabe
Globe Staff

A man and a woman are dead and around 30 people have been left homeless after an early morning blaze ripped through two Fenway apartment buildings, fire officials said.

The fire, which began around 5:15 this morning in a top-floor rear apartment of 21 Aberdeen St. quickly spread to a neighboring multi-unit dwelling, fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald said. The victims' identities have not yet been released.

A third victim, whose current condition is unknown, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment.

Fire investigators said electricity on Aberdeen Street went out around midnight. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, MacDonald said.

Residents displaced from the two three-story brick apartment buildings were moved to a Boston University facility at nearby 1 University Road.

Early estimates of damage sustained by the two buildings is estimated at more than $500,000, MacDonald said.

Mabell Hernandez, 21, said she was woken up shortly before 5:30 a.m. by her roommate, who had been woken by fire alarms in their building.
The junior international relations and economics major at Boston University lives at 25 Aberdeen St., a BU-owned building just two doors down from the condominium building where the blaze started.

Hernandez said she left her apartment around 9 p.m. and returned at 1 a.m. to find NStar workers on her street trying to restore power, which went out around midnight, residents interviewed said.

Hernandez said she and the students from her building fled in pajamas, many without shoes. When she emerged from her building, all she could see was smoking billowing out of windows, she said.

Her apartment, though not damaged directly by flames, did suffer smoke damage, she said.

Charles Swift, a 22-year-old junior electrical engineer who lives in the same building as Hernandez, said he was woken up by the shouts of NStar workers shouting to residents to get out of their apartments.

"At first, I thought it was a prank or something," he said. Soon, though, he smelled smoke and put on jeans and coat and went outside to see the flames. He's unsure of what damage, if any, his apartment suffered.

Boston University spokesman Colin Riley said the university would offer housing assistance to students displaced by the fire. Students living in BU-owned buildings at 25 and 27 Aberdeen St. were expected to be allowed back into their apartments later today, Riley said.

Posted by dfilipov at 2:10 PM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2007

John Bulger sues state for pension

By Michael Levenson
GLOBE STAFF

The youngest brother of fugitive mobster James J. ‘‘Whitey’’ Bulger is suing the State Retirement Board, saying that although he thwarted efforts to capture his notorious brother, he deserves to collect his $65,000-a-year pension.

John P. Bulger, a former juvenile court clerk magistrate in Boston, argues that the punishment was excessive.

The Retirement Board revoked the pension in 2003, saying that John Bulger violated his oath as a clerk magistrate when he lied to grand juries investigating his brother’s disappearance.

The lawsuit is stirring outrage from the relatives of Whitey Bulger’s victims, who say the loss of a pension is a small price to pay for misleading authorities who were trying to locate a wanted for numerous slayings.

‘‘Such unbelievable carnage they wreaked on my son for eight hours, and yet they make a lot out of his pension,’’ said Emily McIntyre of Quincy, whose son, John, was choked and shot to death by Whitey Bulger and Stephen ‘‘The Rifleman’’ Flemmi in South Boston in 1984. ‘‘My God in heaven, that’s such a little thing in life. He should be glad that he has his life. I have to live with much, much less than that.’’

Victor Davis, whose sister, Debra, was allegedly killed by Whitey Bulger in 1981, echoed the sentiment.

‘‘We’ve paid such a big price that these kind of things seem trivial about his pension,’’ Davis said yesterday. ‘‘Our punishment has been like a 26-year punishment. ..... His punishment can’t even come close.’’

In the lawsuit, John Bulger argues that the loss of his pension, valued at a total of $800,000, violates his constitutional protection from excessive fines.

He could not be reached for comment Friday, and his lawyer, Paul T. Hynes, did not return phone messages.

The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal actions John Bulger has launched since he went before the Retirement Board in August 2003 to argue that he had nothing to live on besides his pension. The 68-year-old South Boston resident who is known as ‘‘Jackie’’ worked for the state for 32 years, until his retirement in 2001.

Despite his plea, the board voted in September 2003 to permanently revoke his pension, arguing that it had no choice because he had pleaded guilty to perjury in April of that year. In that case, John Bulger admitted that he lied to federal grand juries in 1996 and 1998, when he told them that he had not had any communication with Whitey Bulger and did not know about a safe deposit box that was jointly held by both men.

Whitey Bulger fled Massachusetts in 1995 to evade a federal racketeering indictment. Suspected in the slayings of 19 people, he is among the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives.

John Bulger argued his case through a series of lower courts until last year, when he went to the Supreme Judicial Court. There his lawyer argued that John Bulger did not violate his oath as a clerk magistrate because he had lied to the grand juries out of ‘‘family loyalty.’’

John Bulger lost that case last March, when the court ruled unanimously that ‘‘the nature of [John] Bulger’s crimes cannot be separated from the nature of his particular office, when what is at stake is the integrity of the judicial system.’’

This case, filed this week in Suffolk Superior Court, is an attempt to carry on his battle. It comes after another brother, former University of Massachusetts president William M. Bulger, won a ruling from the SJC last year that boosted his pension by $17,000. In that case, William Bulger argued successfully that his housing allowance as a university president should be factored into his pension.
State pension officials said yesterday that they were growing a bit weary of the battle with John Bulger.

‘‘I’m not a lawyer, but I just assume when the SJC rules, that’s the end of the line,’’ said Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who chairs the Retirement Board. ‘‘I would prefer to put this behind me, and I think he would not want to keep reminding everyone of the situation.’’

Ralph White, a member of the Retirement Board, said that if John Bulger feels wronged, he should take his case to the Legislature.
‘‘His battle is not with the board; it’s with those who make the law,’’ White said.

Cahill agreed. ‘‘It’s a tough punishment; there’s no question about that,’’ he said. ‘‘But I think it was fair.’’

Posted by mbrelis at 9:07 PM | Comments (0)

Cambridge pens an ode to populism

By Stephanie Ebbert
GLOBE STAFF

As Boston considers appointing a poet laureate, its neighbor across the Charles has chosen a more inclusive way to pick a city bard: Let the people decide.

’Tis a very Cambridge notion.

This summer, the hub of liberalism, open-mike coffee houses, and countless aspiring slam poets plans to elect a Poet Populist.

‘‘It’s very democratic and populist — not who’s the best poet or who’s the loudest,’’ said Richard Cambridge, who curates the Poet’s Theater at Club Passim. ‘‘That’s lovely.’’

A Cambridge city councilor, Brian Murphy, modeled his program on one in Seattle, where a poet populist is elected of the people, by the people. Murphy’s plan was unanimously adopted by the Cambridge City Council — because, he said, ‘‘who’s against poetry?’’

Cambridge’s plans, still in the works, call for the city poet to be named at the Cambridge River Festival on June 16, probably with help from the audience. Murphy envisions ambitious poets waging campaigns in advance of the event, with votes also collected online. He hopes to make entry as open as possible. ‘‘If you consider yourself a poet, who would I be to disagree with that assessment?’’ Murphy said.

The proposed stipend for the Poet Populist is modest — about $500 — but then, so is the work. The PP will be expected to promote poetry for a year and deliver verse at a handful of occasions, but it’s not heavy lifting.

As Murphy put it, ‘‘This isn’t the Miss America pageant, where you’re going on tour for the full year.’’

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

Tenants return to North End to assess damage

By Brian R. Ballou
GLOBE STAFF

Dozens of weary tenants, mostly students and young professionals wearing jeans or sweatpants, returned to Endicott Street in the North End Friday morning to gather what remained of their belongings after a six-alarm blaze tore through their building Thursday night.

‘‘I have no clothes, other than what I’m wearing,’’ said a woman who only gave her first name, Alison, because her apartment is next to the one where the fire started. ‘‘Hopefully all of the furniture I’ve accumulated over the past four years is OK,’’ said the 26-year-old, who works as an accountant.

‘‘It’s probably all gone, but at least they were able to rescue my dog,’’ she said, referring to her wheaten terrier. The dog was rescued by firefighters Thursday night, its blond coat blackened by soot.

There were no injuries in the fire, which started at 131 Endicott Street at 7 p.m. and displaced about 50 people, said Steve MacDonald, spokesman for the Boston Fire Department. The city is working with the building owner, Edward Capone, to find accommodations for the tenants, said Dot Joyce, spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

‘‘We’re very lucky that this happened earlier in the night, because if it had happened later, a lot of people could have died,’’ said Councilor Sal LaMattina, who represents the North End.

‘‘Fortunately, it seems like most of the residents have found temporary housing with their families or friends,’’ he said. ‘‘There has been an outpouring of support from this community to help out and my office has received a lot of calls from people who want to help the residents out.’’

Fire officials are trying to determine what caused the blaze, which resulted in more than $1.5 million in damage to the four-story red brick building. They are focusing on an old-fashioned stove located in the kitchen of a second-story apartment, MacDonald said.

The stove, which was connected to a gas line, had a side vent through which heat escaped.

‘‘Part of the investigation will look into whether combustibles were too close to that heating source,’’ MacDonald said. As late as 6 p.m. yesterday, some 23 hours after the blaze, investigators had not found the resident who lived where the fire is believed to have started.
‘‘It doesn’t make it easy,’’ MacDonald said. ‘‘All we have is his cellphone [number], and we are trying to track him down.’’

Over the past four years, Boston’s Inspectional Services Department has no record of violations at the building and has received only four complaints from residents living there. One of those calls came in September 2005 from a resident complaining that an elderly tenant was using an oven as a heater, said Lisa Timberlake, spokeswoman for the department.

‘‘We called back at least three times to the person who complained, but they never returned our call, so we didn’t go out there,’’ Timberlake said.

Thursday’s fire also damaged two adjoining buildings, but the flames, smoke, and thousands of gallons of water that fire crews used to put out the blaze appeared to have caused less destruction to those buildings, which are also owned by Capone. On Friday, residents living in apartments there removed clothes, ski equipment, electronics, and other items.

Jose Baraybar, 35, sidestepped mounds of charred furniture on the sidewalk to return to his apartment for two expensive items, a 42-inch flat-screen television and a laptop computer. ‘‘I didn’t have a lot of stuff, just two or three things that were valuable and all my pictures,’’ he said, rubbing his left thumb on the side of the television to remove a tiny smudge.

‘‘It looked really bad last night, but I guess, I’m one of the lucky ones.’’

Posted by mbrelis at 8:33 PM | Comments (0)

UMass police charge 34 more in December riot

By Globe Staff

Police at the University of Massachusetts Amherst announced today that criminal charges had been filed against 34 additional people in connection with a Dec. 15 riot on campus that has now led to criminal charges against 57 suspects.

Patrick Archbald, deputy chief of the UMass Amherst Police, said in a statement that the new charges filed on Wednesday in Eastern Hampshire District Court included inciting a riot, failure to disperse, burning property, and malicious destruction of property over $250. This was the third wave of criminal charges stemming from the incident and more are expected.

The dean of students has also expelled five students in connection with the riot, handed out 28 suspensions, and issued 22 received deferred suspensions. Eight students have also been kicked out of university housing. The conduct of additional students is still under review.

Posted by aryan at 5:55 PM | Comments (0)

Fire on Cape hospitalizes elderly man, kills two dogs

By Dan Muse, Globe Correspondent

Dennis firefighters rescued a 90-year-old man who was trapped inside a burning home today, authorities said.

The two-alarm blaze broke out about 10 a.m. in a home on Scargo Heights Road. When firefighters arrived, they found the man surrounded by smoke.

The victim was taken to Cape Cod Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. A Dennis firefighter was also transported to the hospital with a minor hand injury.

Two dogs died in the fire, according to Tim Chicoine of the Dennis fire department. He said the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

Posted by aryan at 5:26 PM | Comments (0)

Vatican defrocks priest accused of abuse in Marblehead

By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff

The Vatican has defrocked the Rev. George J. Rosenkranz, a Catholic priest who has been suspended since 1989 over allegations that he sexually abused minors, the Archdiocese of Boston said today.

Rosenkranz will no longer get financial support from the archdiocese and can not function as a priest, except by offering absolution to the dying, the archdiocese said.

Rosenkranz, who was ordained in 1962, allegedly molested a young man at Star of the Sea parish in Marblehead in the 1960s. He also was arrested twice in the 1980s for allegedly lewd conduct; the charge in at least one of the incidents was dropped.

Posted by aryan at 5:17 PM | Comments (0)

Six teens charged in gas station robbery in Braintree

By Globe Staff

Police arrested six teenagers Thursday night in connection with an armed robbery at the Mutual Gas Station on Hancock Street.

Braintree Deputy Police Chief Russell Jenkins said today that two of the teens approached the store at about 8: 25 p.m. while the other four waited nearby in a white Ford Explorer.

Police allege that Brendon J. Whittaker, 18, pointed a BB gun that looked like a semi-automatic pistol at a store clerk while Scott J. Pedretti, 19, acted as a lookout. The two Braintree teens ran off with an undisclosed amount of cash and jumped in the Ford Explorer. With the help of witnesses, police quickly located the vehicle.

The other teens arrested were: Amanda S. Nix, 17, of Weymouth, who drove the Ford Explorer; Timothy J. Holland, 17, and William A. LeBlanc, 17, both of Weymouth; and Steven S. Bankowski, 19, of Randolph. The suspects all pleaded not guilty today in Quincy District Court.

"It's a pretty serious crime to have on your record at such a young age," Jenkins said.

Posted by aryan at 5:11 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick bars state contractors from hiring undocumented workers

By Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick, who was criticized as soft on illegal immigration during his campaign, signed an executive order today that barred any company with a state contract from employing undocumented workers.

Patrick vowed that any employer caught hiring illegal immigrants would lose state contracts and face fines and other penalties.

"I understand how most undocumented immigrants enter Massachusetts seeking opportunities, jobs and a better way of life, and I support balanced immigration reform," the governor said in a statement. "But undocumented workers cannot work on state contracts, and we must enforce that law."

Last year lawmakers called for a crackdown on companies that hire undocumented workers. In June, the Globe published an analysis of nine public works project and found that the state paid millions to contractors who hired hundreds of illegal laborers. The projects ranged from dormitory construction at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth to the building of the new Middlesex County Jail.

Later in the summer, the Globe found that the State Police had relied for years on a company to clean its barracks and headquarters that has employed scores of undocumented immigrants. The story was published at a time when then-governor Mitt Romney was pushing to give state troopers the authority to enforce federal immigration laws.

Romney eventually gave troopers that power in an agreement with federal immigration authorities. The deal was nullified when Patrick took office.

Federal and state laws already prohibit the hiring of undocumented workers.

The executive order that Patrick signed today will require state contractors to certify that they have not knowingly used undocumented workers and have checked the immigration status of their employees.

Posted by aryan at 4:17 PM | Comments (0)

Dr Pepper apologizes, promises to reimburse city for costs, plus $10,000

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe staff

The makers of Dr Pepper apologized today for hiding a prize from a marketing campaign inside the Granary Burying Ground and promised to reimburse the city for extra security expenses it incurred and donate $10,000 to the colonial-era cemetery.

"The coin should never have been placed in such a hallowed site, and we sincerely apologize," said Greg Artkop, a spokesman for Dr Pepper, in a written statement.

Since the Boston leg of the promotion was cancelled Thursday after outcry from city officials, the company also said it would hold a raffle to award $10,000 to one of the local contestants who had collected enough clues to lead them to the prize location.

"We hope to award that prize shortly," Artkop said.

A marketing company working for Dr Pepper hid a coin inside the cast iron gates of the Granary Burying Ground in downtown Boston as a part of its "Hunt for More" promotion. Similar treasure hunts took place in 22 other cities in the United States and Canada and sent contestants following a series of clues in hopes of winning prizes that ranged from $10,000 to $1 million.

The Boston coin, which was supposed to be redeemable for $10,000, was hidden in the 347-year-old cemetery on Tremont Street along the Freedom Trail. The burial ground, however, had been closed by the Parks Department since Monday because of icy walkways.

This morning, the company safely recovered the coin and no damage was done to the cemetery.

Artkop noted in his statement today that the coin was placed on the ground -- not at a grave.

Posted by aryan at 3:13 PM | Comments (0)

City Council President: 3rd time won't be the charm for guerilla marketers

By Globe Staff

Boston City Council President Maureen E. Feeney today renewed her vow to hold public hearings to explore ways to combat guerrilla marketing after the second advertising stunt in less than a month took aim at Boston.

"It is intolerable that companies should exploit city resources at the expense of public safety and even historic property for a cheap promotion," Feeney said in a statement. "As a city government, we must act to prevent the negative impact of these marketing activities."

Feeney first proposed holding hearings last month after police responded to a series of reports of possible bombs that turned out to be electronic signs promoting a Cartoon Network show, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." The companies involved in that stunt paid $2 million in restitution to local governments and law enforcement agencies.

On Thursday, the makers of the soft drink Dr Pepper cancelled the Boston leg of a 23-city treasure hunt after irate city officials charged it was "disrespectful" that the company hid a coin inside a 17th-century cemetery home to the graves of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and other founding American patriots.

Feeney wants to tighten regulations and increase fines for companies that utilize similar covert promotional campaigns. The hearing has been tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. on March 6 inside the council chamber at City Hall.

Posted by aryan at 2:22 PM | Comments (0)

Judge dismisses Lexington suit over school lesson involving same-sex couples

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit by two Lexington couples who claimed the local public school district violated their constitutional rights by teaching their young children about different types of families, including those headed by same-sex couples.

Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf of the US District Court said that under the Constitution, public schools are "entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy. Diversity is a hallmark of our nation.''

In a 38-page decision, Wolf said the two couples -- David and Tonia Parker, and Robert and Robin Wirthlin -- have the option of sending their children to private schools or home-schooling them. He also said the couples can ask the school district to excuse their children when classroom discussions touch on issues of homosexuality.

But they have no right to prescribe what the school district teaches, he said, citing precedent-setting federal court rulings.

"As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his journal, 'I pay the school master, but 'tis the school boys that educate my son,'" Wolf wrote.

The couples filed their suit in 2006 after Jacob Parker, then in kindergarten, brought home a book depicting different families, including a same-sex couple. Joey Wirthlin, then in first grade, was read a book featuring a prince who married another prince.

Moments after he heard about today's ruling, David Parker said, "We will continue to move forward, as we always have, with patience and tolerance in these matters." He declined to elaborate.

Sarah Wunsch, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Massachusetts, which filed a friend of the court briefing siding with the school district, praised Wolf's ruling.

"I think it's a terrific opinion," she said. "A parent can't control what's taught in the public schools based on their own personal religious views. So it keeps public education alive, really."

Posted by aryan at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)

Dr. Pepper's 'gold coin' found in historic cemetery

(Mark Wilson/Globe Staff)

The winning coin was retrieved from the Granary Burying Ground today after it was hidden there as part of a promotional campaign by Dr Pepper. The contest was cancelled Thursday after irate city officials charged it was disrespectful to use the cemetery.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Dr. Pepper's gold coin was in the Granary Burying Ground the entire time, tucked behind the lip on a slab of slate covering the entrance to an almost 200-year-old crypt.

The makers of the soft drink cancelled the Boston leg of a 23-city treasure hunt Thursday after irate city officials charged it was "disrespectful" that the company hid a coin inside the 17th-century cemetery home to the graves of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and other founding American patriots.

The private detective who hid the coin for Dr. Pepper returned to the burial ground today to show officials where he had secreted the prize, which was redeemable for $10,000. The company's "Hunt for More" marketing promotion sent contestants following a series of clues in hopes of winning $1 million.

A clue posted Tuesday on Dr. Pepper's website appeared to direct contestants to the almost 350-year-old cemetery on Tremont Street along the Freedom Trail. The burial ground, however, had been closed by the parks department since Monday because heavy ice had made it hazardous for pedestrians.

"I think the fact that the gates were closed was almost like and act of god," Mary Hines, a spokeswoman for the Parks Department, said today. "It kept them out."

City officials feared that the contest would have sent hundreds of people rummaging through the burial ground, a national historic site, which would have made tampering with the graves a felony.

This morning, the coin was still tucked in its black leather pouch, exactly where detective Timothy L. Sullivan had left it on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. It was on the ground in front of crypt number 96, which had the names Edward and William Reynolds etched above the year 1810.

The parks department knew nothing of the marketing campaign until it was deluged with more than 100 phone calls this week from angry people demanding access to the graveyard. But officials kept it closed because of fears that the treasure hunters would damage the fragile headstones and disturb the cemetery. Founded in 1660, the burial ground is also the final resting place of Robert Treat Paine, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Peter Faneuil, benefactor and namesake of the famed downtown landmark; James Otis, a Revolutionary orator and lawyer; five victims of the Boston Massacre; and the remains of an estimated 5,000 other people.

On Thursday, Cadbury Schweppes PLC, which makes Dr Pepper, apologized for the ruckus. Boston-area contestants received emails informing them that the game was off and that a random drawing would determine the winner of the $10,000, the jackpot that would have gone to whoever found the Boston coin.

The coin redeemable for $1 million was hidden in Houston, the company said. Contestants bought specially marked bottles of Dr Pepper each day to get a code to put into a website that disclosed a new clue daily.

Posted by aryan at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)

Meehan returns from Iraq, heading to UMass-Lowell?

(AP Photo/Lisa Poole)

U.S. Representative Martin T. Meehan spoke today at a news conference at Logan International Airport after he returned from a fact-finding trip in Iraq.

By Stephanie Ebbert and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

US Representative Martin T. Meehan returned today from a fact-finding mission in the Middle East and called for American troops to begin coming home from Iraq.

The seven-term Democrat from Lowell chairs the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and has vowed to hold Congressional hearings into the war.

"They are loyal and the most effective fighting force in the history of the world, but frankly I think they've done their job," said Meehan, who spoke to reporters at Logan International Airport.

"This is not a war that can be won militarily," he continued. "It can only be won politically by the Iraqi people."

Meehan, however, may not have much time left in Congress to press his case. While overseas this week, he was named as one of three finalists to head the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, his alma mater. He deflected several questions today from reporters asking if he would accept the job if it was offered. Meehan said he has not yet had time to meet with UMass President Jack M. Wilson to discuss the "exciting" opportunity.

"I look forward to talking to President Wilson about it, but I'm very happy doing what I'm doing," Meehan said.

Wilson will choose among the three finalists, who also include David C. Chang, chancellor of the Polytechnic University, and Nabil A. Ibrahim, the vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Purdue University in Calumet. Wilson's selection must be approved by the university's Board of Trustees.

A spokeswoman for UMass-Lowell has said officials hope that Wilson will make his choice in time for the board to vote during its next meeting on March 14. All three finalists are expected to make visits to campus in the coming weeks.

Posted by aryan at 10:21 AM | Comments (0)

Boston officer hurt, police say suspect rammed cruiser with car

By Globe Staff

A Boston police officer was hurt early this morning when a man fleeing a traffic stop slammed into his cruiser in Dorchester, police said.

Officers were trying to stop a man on Dorchester Avenue at about 3 a.m. when he drove off on the wrong side of the road and hit the cruiser, police said. The officer driving the cruiser was taken to a local hospital with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Police arrested the driver of the car after they said he tried to flee the crash scene. Jamaine Warner, 29, of Dorchester, was charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of an accident, and driving with an expired license. Warner is scheduled to be arraigned later today in Dorchester District Court.

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

South Coast commuter rail talks draw protestors

Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

Protesters greeted Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray and Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen in Easton this morning at the start of a daylong tour to talk to local officials about extending commuter rail service to Fall River and New Bedford.

The 25 protestors, who carried signs that said things such as "Don't change our town," object to the proposed rail project because they say it will increase traffic and substantially alter the small-town charm of Easton. They charge that one proposed route for the rail line would send trains through the Hockomock Swamp Wildlife Management Area, which is home to some endangered reptiles.

Murray and Cohen plan to meet today with officials in Raynham, Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford to discuss the rail service and visit proposed station sites. Cohen described the tour as a fact finding visit to help the state develop its proposal for extending the commuter rail line.

The final route of the line will largely determine if and when it gets built. Governor Deval Patrick and Murray promised during their campaign to extend rail service to the South Coast, but the administration has released few detail about when the rail line would be built or how it would be financed.

The state is scheduled to release details about the proposed commuter rail extension on April 4. While officials have not specified a price tag for the project, recent estimates have put that cost at more than $800 million.

Posted by aryan at 9:49 AM | Comments (0)

February 22, 2007

T trolleys in trouble

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to spend an extra $101 million in the next 20 years because officials failed to properly monitor the design of new handicapped accessible Green Line trolleys, said a report released today by the state auditor.

The 25-page review, which represents a final accounting on the botched purchase of the controversial low-floor cars, also criticizes the T for not properly testing the equipment.

The audit found the authority also failed to give Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie, the Italian manufacturer, detailed track standards necessary to properly design the cars, a flaw that led to a series of derailments, a contractual stalemate, and delayed delivery.

"The lack of detailed track information played a significant role in the dispute ... over whether the derailment issue was caused by car design or track conditions," the report states.

The audit also faults T officials for allowing Breda to reduce the time period for important testing and debugging of the prototype cars from 18 months to 13 months. The audit also found much of the prototype testing was performed at night, before tracks were heated by the sun, which led to misleading results.

"These ill-advised decisions by the MBTA directly contributed to the faulty acceptance design of these vehicles and their propensity to derail," said the audit.

T officials disputed the audit’s price tag, saying the additional costs are $54 million when subtracting routine maintenance costs, not $101 million. Auditors said the $101 million figure was both "accurate and conservative."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)

Hospital executive opens up on blog

By Liz Kowalczyk, Globe Staff

Some things Boston hospital executives generally believe are best kept quiet. Gripes about competitors are one. The rates of hospital-acquired infections among patients, at least at this point, are another.

Then came Paul Levy’s blog.

In August, Levy, chief executive of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, began writing an Internet blog called Running a Hospital, about the inner workings of an academic medical center. Since then, he’s broken a few unwritten rules.

In a recent entry on his website and two previous ones, Levy, saying patients have a right to know, posted the percent of Beth Israel Deaconess patients who get infections each month from intravenous tubing inserted by staff, known as central line infections, which can cause serious harm and even death. (The hospital’s rate has fluctuated, but five or six patients got infections last August, while none did in January, he said.)

He challenged other hospitals to publicize their infection rates, a step that also is being pushed nationally by patient advocates including Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. The Globe asked several other Boston teaching hospitals if they would release their monthly central line infection rates, which they’ve collected internally for years. They all said no -- at least for now -- but that they expect to in the near future.

Executives at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Tufts-New England Medical Center said that hospitals define infections and collect data on their prevalence differently, so that comparisons among hospitals are not always valid. For example, some hospitals employ more staff to track infections that show up after patients are discharged than others; infection rates at these hospitals would look higher, even though they’ve just done a better job at counting. Hospitals are waiting for the state Department of Public Health to develop standards for public reporting of infection rates, probably sometime later this year.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:24 PM | Comments (0)

"Idol" camp comes to Bay State

By Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff

Think of it as "American Idol," the nice version, for children.

FremantleMedia, the coproducer of the television juggernaut "American Idol," announced today that it is sponsoring its first-ever Idol Camp in Massachusetts.

Beginning in early July, 700 youngsters ages 12 to 15 will rotate through Northfield, a Berkshires town of 2,950, for a series of 10-day sessions. They will learn vocal performance, choreography, set-building, music video production, and the basics of auditioning, with helpful tips from stylists. They’ll get visits from celebrities and former "Idol" contestants.

What they won’t do, Fremantle officials insist, is sing to get in. The applications, which become available tomorrow, will be essay-based and judged by educators. And the sessions won’t end with contests or judging, or, as the camp’s marketing literature makes clear, the promise that attendance will help one bit with "American Idol" auditions.

"It’s structured to provide an inspiring environment that’s all about self-esteem, self-empowerment, self-expression, and friendship," said Felicity Carr, the company’s director of sponsorship and live events, who said that Fremantle hopes to "build Idol Camp as an inspirational brand extension."

But it’s also a brand inversion, given the trappings of the television show, which tops the ratings for children and teens. From the bad singers paraded through cattle-call auditions to the nationwide voting that commenced this week, the hallmarks of "Idol" are tough competition, unflinching judges, and harsh truths.

It’s a good bet that youngsters will come to Idol Camp with the show in mind, said Jake Halpern, the author of "Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America’s Favorite Addiction."

Saying the camp won’t promote competition is "like having a military boot camp where they teach people to fire a gun, but saying, 'Oh, we’re actually pacifists,'" Halpern said. "Everyone knows what ‘American Idol’ stands for."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

More rain and snow may slow morning commute

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Another mucky mix of cold rain and snow is forecast to start falling tonight and may slow Friday's morning commute.

The precipitation is expected to begin coming down as rain and is predicted to slowly change into snow. Up to an inch of snow may accumulate overnight in Boston, with higher totals falling south of the city and on Cape Cod, said Kim Buttrick, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton.

A winter weather advisory was issued for Southeastern Massachusetts and the Cape and Islands, where two to four inches of snow is expected to fall, Buttrick said. The advisory also covers Rhode Island and Connecticut, she said.

The slushy weather comes as the city was still thawing after a similar wintry mix of rain and snow fell last week and left streets and sidewalks covered with ice.

By Friday morning, snow and ice could once again create slippery roads, forecasters predict. Drivers should allow extra time to accommodate the snow that fell overnight, with more significant totals accumulating south of the Massachusetts Turnpike.

"Commuters heading south of the city should be especially careful," Buttrick said.

Friday is expected to be a cold, breezy day with winds gusting up to 35 mph. Temperatures are predicted to reach the upper 20s Friday morning before dipping as low as 15 degrees at night. In the suburbs, the mercury may fall to 10 degrees, Buttrick said.

Posted by aryan at 4:05 PM | Comments (0)

Small fire disrupts T service near Park Street station

By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent

A small electrical fire on tracks near the Park Street T station disrupted service on the Green Line this morning for about 25 minutes, according to a spokesman for the MBTA.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority spokesman Joe Pesaturo said that Park Street station was never closed but that Green Line trains did have to be stopped.

MBTA Sergeant Paul Carroll said a train most likely caused sparks that ignited flames on the westbound Green Line tracks just before 10 a.m.

Green Line riders were bused to and from the Park Street station during the incident.

Posted by aryan at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

Retirement board rejects pension increase of former lawmakers

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

The state retirement board today unanimously rejected petitions by three former state representatives who wanted their pensions increased to reflect the perks of office, including the value of state parking spaces on Beacon Hill, a $600 monthly stipend for expenses, and costs for traveling to and from the State House.

The former lawmakers were aiming to capitalize on a recent state Supreme Judicial Court decision that allowed former University of Massachusetts president William M. Bulger to include his housing allowance in the calculation of his retirement plan and boost his pension by $17,000.

State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, the chairman of the retirement board, said that allowing the former legislators to include the perks in their pensions would spark a stampede by hundreds of other retired state employees seeking similar benefits.

The representatives -- Susan W. Pope, a Republican from Wayland; Thomas George, a Republican from Yarmouth; and Marie Parente, a Democrat from Milford -- said they were both disappointed and angered by the board's decision. Each said that they are considering filing a lawsuit to fight to increase their pensions.

Parente called the board's vote a political decision motived by a lack of respect for lawmakers.

"I think it's popular to beat up on state reps and elected officials," said Parente, who served in the Legislature for 26 years. "That's the wave right across the country."

Posted by aryan at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)

Raynham crash kills man, seriously injures woman

By Globe Staff

A 22-year-old Rhode Island man died and a woman suffered serious injuries early this morning in a single-car crash on southbound Interstate 495 in Raynham, State Police reported. A preliminary investigation found that speed may have been a factor in the wreck, and that neither occupants of the car were wearing seat belts.

The 2000 Volkswagen Cabrio was heading south near Exit 7A at about 2 a.m. when it swerved off the road, hit a highway sign, bounced back across all three lanes of travel, and rolled over. A man and a woman were both thrown from the car. Police said it has not yet been determined who was driving.

The man, John W. Hetu, of Pawtucket, died at the scene. The woman, Abby M. Carnello, 19, of Middleboro, was rushed to Morton Hospital and then flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The crash remains under investigation.

Posted by aryan at 10:18 AM | Comments (0)

February 21, 2007

Governor apologizes for spending

By Andrea Estes, GLOBE STAFF

Contrite but defensive, Governor Deval Patrick today for the first time publicly expressed regret for spending thousands of dollars on new office decor and a luxury car lease, but stood behind his wife’s need for a $72,000 aide and the effort to make his corner office suitable for visitors.

"Oh yeah, we screwed up," Patrick told a horde of reporters, a day after promising to repay the state for office furnishings and a portion of his official car. "I am so sorry that we all have spent the kind of time we have on what we have spent time on, and I am sorry to have been responsible for that."

The new governor’s public mea culpa came after a week of spiraling reports about his use of taxpayer money, including $1,166 each month on a Cadillac DTS and $12,306 on new draperies in his office.

But in apologizing, he also chided the reporters who have hounded him about the spending since the first reports surfaced.

"I think it’s very important to me that you in the media help me get the message out about what it is we are concentrating on," Patrick said. "That is what the public needs to know about and what it is we are working on, and unless I get this off your screen, then I don’t think we’re going to be able to get that done."

On Tuesday, Patrick announced he would contribute $543 toward the lease of the $46,000 Cadillac, bringing the state cost in line with the monthly payment on the more modest Crown Victoria used by his predecessor, Mitt Romney.

He also said he would repay taxpayers for $27,387 in new furniture he purchased for his corner office. An interior designer helped Patrick select two wing chairs worth $3,870, two couches worth $4,470, damask draperies worth $12,306, and other furnishings selected from a variety of antiques and furniture stores, including the high-end Baker, Knapp and Tubbs.

Aides said the state did not pay for the designer’s services. They said they did not know whether Patrick paid the designer, who is a personal friend.

Patrick today said the office needed a makeover.

"I receive heads of companies, heads of labor. I receive community groups, members of the Legislature and members of the diplomatic corps," he told reporters after a Statehouse event. "I think the governor’s office should look nice and I’m prepared to be a BYO governor -- bring your own furniture."

Patrick today also insisted the appointment of a chief of staff for his wife, Diane, a partner at Ropes and Gray, was appropriate. "Every governor has had staff that helps support the work of the office, including the work of the First Lady," he said. "We just happen to call her by name."

In previous administrations, a member of the governor’s staff helped the governor’s spouse with scheduling.

Patrick suggested that it is only the media, not the public, that is questioning his personal spending. " will tell you -- in the grocery store, at the cleaners, running errands on the weekend, I get a very different kind of feedback than I get in this gathering," he said.

But in Internet chat rooms and web sites, a nascent disillusionment has emerged, even among supporters.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)

Governor goes fishing for federal help

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

Governor Deval L. Patrick today sought federal economic aid for the state’s fishing industry, arguing that recent environmental regulations threaten the livelihood of local fishermen.

The Patrick administration asserted in a letter to US Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez that tighter limits on the number of days fishermen can spend at sea will severely erode their profits. Patrick wrote that environmental and economic concerns could be balanced.

"Conserving natural resources and preserving our fishing communities are, I believe, of universal concern," Patrick said in the letter.

Even if the Bush administration were to grant a "fisheries resource disaster" declaration, Congress would still have to approve an aid package in order for Massachusetts fishermen to benefit.

Five years ago, the region’s fishing industry got a $16 million aid package for similar reasons.

Fishermen and Patrick administration officials said the problem stems from a Nov. 22, 2006, federal regulation that cut in half the number of days fishermen can spend harvesting groundfish like flounder and cod in waters near Gloucester and New Bedford. Fishermen can spend 24 days per year fishing off Gloucester, and about 40 near New Bedford.

State officials said crisis has not hit the area yet because fishermen have been making tidy sums in the winter, when fish prices soar.

But they are quickly using up their allotted days and will feel the pinch in spring, said state officials.

State legislators from coastal towns and fishing industry representatives pressed their case last week with the Patrick administration.

State Senator Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, called Patrick’s letter "the kind of decisive action we need to take now in order to have a commercial fishing industry for tomorrow."

State Attorney General Martha Coakley has also sued the government in federal court, arguing the Nov. 22 regulation was unfair because it did not cover Maine waters, which share many fish stocks with Massachusetts waters.

"Everyone agrees that the stocks of groundfish in the waters off the coast of Massachusetts need to be replenished," said Patrick in a statement. "But recent regulatory actions have come down unfairly hard on our fishing fleet."

Roger Fleming, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, said the larger problem was not federal regulations but too much fishing.

"We have a real resource crisis going on in New England. There aren’t enough fish for the fisherman to catch," he said. "We need to reduce fishing pressure to replenish the groundfish stock."

Patrick said he would compile data documenting the administration’s case and present it to federal regulators by April 9.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)

Kennedy memorabilia on the auction bloc

By David Abel, GLOBE STAFF

A pair of terrycloth hand towels embroidered with a pink-and-orange J.K.B. monogram, is going for about $500. A canvas-covered life ring with a hemp rope bearing the fading name "VICTURA" is up for about $5,000. Two handwritten letters, one with incendiary allegations, are on sale for about $7,000.

A Connecticut auctioning house that hopes to sell the items this weekend says they are relics from Joan B. Kennedy’s multimillion-dollar home in Hyannis Port, which the former wife of US Senator Edward M. Kennedy sold in 2005.

"Much of the material looks like it was received from the trash," said Bill Panagopoulos, president of Alexander Autographs, the auctioning house in Stamford. "This is the kind of material that you or I would throw in the trash, but because it’s the Kennedy family, it’s newsworthy."

And apparently worth a good amount of cash.

Panagopoulos said his company already has received dozens of bids for the memorabilia, which include Jacqueline Kennedy’s old hand towels, a life ring from John F. Kennedy’s sailboat, Victura, and letters Jacqueline Kennedy wrote to Joan while she and the senator were experiencing marital turbulence, he said.

He said the items came to the auctioning house from a life-long Brewster resident who bought seven storage units on Cape Cod, which had been sold last summer because the owner failed to pay the storage fees. Panagopoulos would not provide the person’s name, but he said the buyer made a living by auctioning items found in delinquent storage units.

Panagopoulos said the person tracked down the owner of the items, who apparently worked for Joan Kennedy and received the items by either fishing through the trash or as gifts.

Officials at the offices of Edward Kennedy and Representative Patrick J. Kennedy did not respond to messages seeking the authenticity of the items.

Asked why he considers the items genuine, Panagopoulos said: "I’ve sold 40,000 lots like this, and I’ve seen enough Jackie pieces to know Jackie when I see her. Since all the items came from the same consigner and were purchased in the same lots, its provenance is solid."

Asked why they he thinks they will sell for thousands of dollars, he said: "I’ve seen Elvis Presley’s cigarette butts fetch money."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:08 PM | Comments (0)

Post agrees to quit barring women

By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff

When Peabody City Council candidate Marisa DeFranco told officials at the local Portuguese American War Veterans post that she would like to come to a dinner they were holding just before the 2001 primary, they gave her two options.

She could either send her husband to work the crowd on her behalf, or she could wait in another room with other women candidates, catching the attendees on their way out of the dinner.

The event was a men-only affair, Post Commander Raymond Silva told DeFranco. No women were allowed at the dinner, which was to be replete with male voters and male political hopefuls.

"My first reaction was shock," DeFranco recalled today. "I found it intolerable and unacceptable."

Six years later, the Massachusetts attorney general’s office and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination agreed with her. Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today that her office and MCAD had reached a settlement with the veterans post over allegations that it violated state law by excluding women from their monthly men’s dinners.

"It is troubling that in the 21st century there are still social clubs and organizations that discriminate against women solely because of their gender," Coakley said in a statement. "We all know that business and professional relationships are created and furthered in these kinds of settings, and excluding women is both unjust and discriminatory under the law."

A man who answered the phone at the Peabody post said he had no comment on the settlement, and the lawyer who represented the veterans group did not return phone calls.

DeFranco, who was a first-time and ultimately unsuccessful candidate in 2001, also reached a private settlement with the veterans post. DeFranco, 36, a lawyer, refused to disclose the terms.

"I was really heartened by the attorney general’s participation," she said. "I’m hopeful that women will continue to expand their access to the political world and to clubs like this, so that it will expand access to the full panoply of people’s ideas, regardless of their gender."

The attorney general and MCAD determined that the veterans post was not sufficiently private to be excluded from the state’s antidiscrimination law.

"Organizations that are essentially the equivalent of the public square, where business relationships are formed and through which civic life is conducted, should be open to all members of society," Zucker said. "That is clearly the case here, and the attorney general is absolutely right to [compel] the veterans club to include women and, in this case, to allow women candidates for public office to make their cases to its members."

DeFranco said she thought for a long time before bringing her complaint. In the end, she said, she had no choice.

"In my work and my personal life, I advocate for people to stand up for themselves," she said. "The other impetus for me is to make sure it didn’t happen to the next woman running for office."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 8:59 PM | Comments (0)

Lawrence public works director faces new allegations

By Russell Contreras
Globe Staff

The suspended director of Lawrence's Department of Public Works, Frank McCann, is facing new allegations of overspending about $400,000 on road and sewer projects in recent months and for "inappropriate behavior" with a subordinate, Mayor Michael J. Sullivan said.

The mayor's inquiry has turned into a political dispute, as city councilors have begun pressing the mayor to explain in detail why he put McCann on leave without pay. Some also want to reinstate McCann to his $104,000-a-year position.

"Suspending him with no pay is a mistake," Councilor Nunzio DiMarca said of McCann. "He's a good man."

The public feud is one of several recent personnel-related fights between the mayor and the council. During the budget process for this year, councilors questioned Sullivan's hiring practices and consulting contracts. The mayor has responded that as the city's chief executive, he has the authority to hire and fire employees.

Earlier this month, Sullivan suspended McCann for allegedly authorizing close to $500,000 in fiber optic work without seeking a required bid, and for the way McCann responded to recent thefts of funds from city parking facilities. Sullivan also announced that a city investigation has uncovered more allegations against McCann.

Reached by phone, McCann declined to comment. His lawyer, Scott Gleason, called the suspension "political hooliganism at the highest level" and said the suspension letter contained no details on his alleged wrongdoing.

According to Sullivan, the Department of Public Works has overspent on road and sewer work from last July to the present. Sullivan said the department overspent by "100 percent" on all road and sewer projects, in violation of the state's bidding law. The law states that any project that goes more than 25 percent over the winning bid amount must go out for rebidding, said Sullivan.

In addition, the city's personnel department is looking to McCann's relationship with a subordinate that has sparked complaints by other Lawrence employees, according to the mayor.

Gleason acknowledged that McCann has a romantic relationship with the subordinate, and has not tried to hide it. The lawyer said the subordinate should have been transferred and believes McCann is being unfairly targeted. "The mayor needs to be asked if this is the only relationship that he is aware of that is going on," Gleason said.

Read more about the controversy Thursday at boston.com/northwest.

Posted by ddahl at 6:20 PM | Comments (0)

One dead, one injured after two afternoon shootings

By Globe Staff

Boston police are investigating two separate shootings this afternoon that left one man dead and sent another victim to a hospital with a gunshot wound in the back.

Police in Dorchester are searching for a suspect who shot and killed a man near the corner of Devon Street and Columbia Road at about 3:30 p.m. Deputy Police Superintendent Rafael Ruiz told reporters at the scene that a fight outside a store turned deadly when someone pulled a gun and shot a man several times.

Police did not release the name of the victim. Relatives said the man was 22 years old and had a 4-year-old daughter.

Officers chased a man for several blocks on Devon Street but lost contact with the suspect, Ruiz said. The victim’s body was covered with a white sheet. Friends and family who came to the murder scene to grieve were comforted by the Reverend William Dickerson from the Greater Love Tabernacle Church.

About 45 minutes later in Mattapan, a man was shot in the back on Harvard Street and rushed to Boston Medical Center. The victim, who police did not identify, is expected to survive.

Posted by aryan at 6:06 PM | Comments (0)

Woman killed in I-195 crash in Rehoboth

By Globe Staff

A 37-year-old woman died when the car she was driving veered off Interstate 195 in Rehoboth this morning and hit two trees, according to a press release from the State Police.

Gina M. Almeida, of Fall River, was driving west at about 8:15 a.m. when her 2006 Honda sedan swerved off the road. Investigators believe that another vehicle may have been involved in the crash and driven off. Almeida, who was wearing her seat belt, died at the scene.

The two left lanes of westbound I-195 were closed until just before noon. The accident remains under investigation and State Police are asking anyone with information about the crash to call the North Dartmouth barracks at 508-993-8373.

Posted by aryan at 5:12 PM | Comments (0)

Hilltop Steak House auctions off cookware, cows, and memories

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

The Hilltop Steak House held an auction at its former Braintree location today to sell everything from fiberglass cows to the kitchen sink.

By April Simpson and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The green, 50-foot tall cactus that greeted motorists on Union Street in Braintree for more than 15 years sold for $100. The aluminum pots, mixers, ovens, tables, and chairs also went to the highest bidders. As did the sign for the butcher shop, cowboy paintings, stainless steel display racks, and the chandeliers that look like deer antlers.

But nothing made quite as much buzz today when the Hilltop Steak House auctioned off the contents of its Braintree location as those famous fiberglass cows. Modeled after Black Angus and Hereford cattle, the 7-foot-long, 4-foot-high, black and brown bovines sold for up to $1,100 apiece.

"The cows were a great attraction," said a melancholy Lenny DeRosa, the vice president of restaurant operations for the Hilltop chain, of which only the original location in Saugus remains. "To be honest with you, I'm a little heartbroken."

The first Hilltop opened in 1961 in Saugus and was followed by others in Nashua, N.H. and Braintree. The Nashua location closed some time ago. The 410-seat Braintree restaurant and butcher shop shut down earlier this month to make way for a Toyota dealer.

That prompted today's 450-lot auction, to sell everything from kitchen equipment to the western-style kitsch that makes the Hilltop unique, including boots with spurs, lassos, a leather saddle, and the faux livestock.

About 75 people came to the daylong sale, following two auctioneers as they moved from the kitchen, to the butcher shop, to the dinning room.

Some came searching for deals on used restaurant equipment. Others wanted to take home a sign, a cow, a spittoon, or some other tangible piece of the Hilltop.

"I'm here for the chandeliers," said Kathy Grennon, 50, of Quincy, eyeing the antler-like light fixtures.

DeRosa left long before the auction ended and drove back to the Saugus location on Route 1 with a heavy heart.

"It's just not easy to close the door and walk away," said DeRosa, who has worked for Hilltop since 1976. "There's a lot of memories ... a lot of people you've seen there and fed there and made happy."

Posted by aryan at 3:48 PM | Comments (0)

Police: Man slips and train runs over his foot

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

A 46-year-old Leominster man seriously injured his right foot today when he was hit by an MBTA commuter rail train at the Concord station.

Kevin Howard told investigators that at about 10:30 a.m he was running for the train as it was moving and slipped. The outbound Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority train then struck his foot.

Howard was conscious and alert when police found him lying on the station platform. He was later flown to Brigham and Women's Hospital, where a spokeswoman said this afternoon that his condition was not available.

Howard told police he was returning from Concord District Court, where he attended a pretrial hearing for a drunken driving arrest last month.

Police said they did not know if alcohol was a factor in today's accident. The train that hit Howard was held at South Acton station while investigators checked for evidence, officials said.

Posted by aryan at 3:01 PM | Comments (0)

Peabody veterans settle after barring woman from club dinner

By Globe Staff

A Peabody veterans club has agreed to actively recruit more women members and develop a procedure for addressing allegations of discrimination as part of a settlement agreement announced today that stems from an incident in which a female city council candidate was barred from speaking at a political forum because of her gender.

Marisa DeFranco, who ran for city council in the fall of 2001, was told she would have to sit in a bar adjacent to the club's main dining room or send her husband to represent her at the males-only event at the Portuguese-American War Veterans Club. DeFranco, who could not be immediately reached today for comment, filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. The state attorney general's office also filed its own complaint.

Attorney General Martha Coakley said today that an investigation found that men-only dinners were a long-standing practice at the club and were held 10 or 11 times a year.

"It is troubling that in the 21st century, there are still social clubs and organizations that discriminate against women solely because of their gender," Coakley said in a statement. "We all know that business and professional relationships are created and furthered in these kinds of settings and excluding women is both unjust and discriminatory under the law."

DeFranco, who lost the election, also reached her own settlement with the club, the terms of which were not disclosed.

As a part of the settlement, the club is prohibited from banning women from their monthly dinners and has also agreed to increase the number of females in leadership positions; develop and implement an anti-discrimination policy; create a position for someone who is responsible for responding to complaints of sex discrimination; and provide anti-discrimination training to board members, officers, and other club leaders.

Posted by aryan at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)

Second fisherman's body recovered from sunken Lady of Grace

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A state police dive team recovered the body of a second fisherman this morning on the Lady of Grace, the 75-foot New Bedford-based commercial dragger that went down on Jan. 26 with four men aboard.

Six state police divers and one commercial diver began a search of the vessel at about 7 a.m. where it sank about 12 miles north of Nantucket, said Sergeant Robert M. Bousquet Jr.

"They found one member of the crew in one of the bunk rooms" at about 7:45 a.m., Bousquet said.

The remains were brought onto a 41-foot State Police patrol vessel and are in the process of being transported to the US Coast Guard station at Woods Hole, Bousquet said. The body will then be taken to the state medical examiner's office in Boston to be identified.

On Jan. 29, divers recovered the body of the boat's captain, Antonio Barroqueiro, 50, of Fairhaven. The three crew members were Joao Silva, Rogerio Ventura, and Mario Farinhas.

This morning, the dive team was able to search 95 percent of the Lady of Grace and did not find any additional remains, Bousquet said. The engine room could not be searched because of debris. State Police do not plan to make any additional dives to look for the two crew members who are still missing, Bousquet said.

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

February 20, 2007

Romney rolls out TV ad

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe staff

Mitt Romney, trailing in early New Hampshire polls but flush with campaign cash, will launch a television commercial in New Hampshire and Iowa on Wednesday, becoming the first major presidential candidate to take to the airwaves in those battleground states.

Titled "Unplugged," the commercial was shot in a stripped-down style with hand-held video cameras during his announcement speeches in Michigan and Iowa last week, giving viewers the illusion of having an up-close view of the candidate.

"I believe the American people are overtaxed and the government is overfed," Romney says in the ad, speaking before a flag-draped stage in Des Moines as his audience breaks into cheers. "I believe we’re spending too much money, and that’s got to stop. I believe our laws ought to be written by the people, and not by unelected judges."

Sixty-second and 30-second versions of the ads will begin airing Wednesday in New Hampshire and Iowa and will expand to South Carolina, Michigan and Florida next week. The campaign would not say how much it is spending on the ads or how long they will run.

Andrew E. Smith, director of the Survey Center, said it’s a bit early to run television commercials, but Romney needs to be seen as "a player -- not in the second tier of candidates.

"And I think that’s what Romney needs to do right now, he’s really at the border line," Smith said. "I think he needs to boost his image so ... it’s not seen as McCain versus Giuliani, it’s McCain, Giuliani and Romney."

Kevin Madden, Romney’s press secretary, said the ad is not a reaction to polls, but rather a logical next step in introducing the candidate.
"The announcement last week generated a lot of interest in Mitt Romney, yet Mitt Romney is still someone who is not well-known," he said.

"These ads are aimed at engaging interested voters and telling them who Mitt Romney is and why he’s the right choice as our next president."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:44 PM | Comments (0)

Another DNA snafu may derail sex cases

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

State officials said Tuesday they have discovered a new problem in the State Police crime lab that could jeopardize 12 sex crime investigations: the DNA profiles of the suspects should never have been in the lab’s database of convicted felons.

Public Safety Secretary Kevin M. Burke said the 12 suspects -- whose profiles matched DNA evidence collected from crime scenes -- were convicted of misdemeanors. State law, however, limits the database to only those convicted of felonies.

Burke, a former Essex County prosecutor, said he believes police and prosecutors can still seek criminal charges using the DNA information. "As far as I can see, it is admissible," he said in a telephone interview. "This error wasn’t an intentional error. The errors in these 12 cases was the result of misreading the original criminal record."

But defense attorneys said since the state had no right to the information, prosecutors should not now be allowed to use the DNA matches in trials.

"Why are the samples being taken illegally? That sounds like 12 violations of the law," said William J. Leahy, chief counsel for the state’s public defender agency, who said he wants more information from Burke. "There may be more violations. The 12 could just be the tip of the iceberg."

The 12 cases are in addition to 23 sexual assault cases in which Robert E. Pino, the civilian administrator of the Combined DNA Index System failed to notify police of DNA matches in time, making it impossible for law enforcement to prosecute offenders. Pino also violated department rules in four cases by treating "familial matches" of relatives as links to convicted felons, officials say.

Pino has been suspended with pay and his union has said the problems were the result of an overworked lab staff.

The FBI is auditing the DNA database, and Burke plans to spend up to $300,000 to hire an outside consultant to perform a complete management review of the lab. Tuesday, he also said he has ordered a top deputy, LaDonna Hatton, to personally supervise the lab by working out of the main lab in Sudbury.

Burke said it was not clear if the 12 new problem cases should be blamed on Pino. He said the DNA profiles were collected at jails, prisons, and probation offices and shipped to the lab based on the belief that the offenders were convicted of felonies. He said it was State Police lab workers who discovered the mistakes.

State Police were forced to disclose the new cases in an affidavit filed in a Norfolk Superior Court case in which a Boston man faces nine counts of aggravated rape stemming from a 2001 house break-in.
Sosa is also being prosecuted in Suffolk County for a 1995 break-in and rape and in Middlesex County for a break-in and attempted rape, according to court records and his defense attorney, John J. Courtney.

Courtney said Pino testified before the Norfolk County grand jury that indicted Sosa and Courtney has asked a Superior Court judge to dismiss the charges -- or to delay the trial until the inquiries of the lab are completed.

"We won’t know until the audit comes through whether or not any of this information is false," Courtney said of Pino’s grand jury testimony. "It’s reasonable to at least be suspicious about the reliability of his testimony."

Through a spokesman, Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating’s office said its does not believe the lab’s issues have any bearing on the evidence against Sosa. Burke has insisted that the science of DNA matches is valid and the problems are only administrative.

Superior Court Judge Charles Grabau has taken Courtney’s motions under advisement.

Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:37 PM | Comments (0)

Injuries lead to legislation

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

There was the woman who went flying 8 feet into the air on an inner tube and crash-landed in a frozen marsh; the dad who slipped and bruised his ribs while shoveling, then burned himself after he fell asleep on a heating pad; and the elderly man on blood-thinning medication who bled profusely after slipping on the ice and cutting his head.

Across the region, young and old have been streaming into emergency rooms with broken wrists, fractured legs, cracked ribs, crushed fingers, concussions, sore backs, and bleeding heads since last week’s ice storm turned the region into a rock-hard, slick obstacle course. Formerly gentle slopes for sledding are creating speeds that approach those of luge runs. Sledders who crash are finding out the hard way that ice is unforgiving. And pedestrians on sidewalks are not faring much better.

Boston Medical Center has treated about 40 people who broke bones and bruised bodies on the ice in the last week. Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have treated about 30 people each day who have fallen on the ice, and Newton-Wellesley Hospital has treated another 20 to 30 people a day since last Wednesday’s storm. Officials say the numbers are twice as high as during a normal winter week.

The deluge of injuries is spurring a push for legislation to make children wear helmets while skiing or sledding, modeled after a similar law requiring protective headgear for young bicyclists, inline skaters, and skateboarders.

Senator Steven C. Panagiotakos said it is not enough to be careful, and will push for a law this year requiring children under 13 who ski or sled to wear helmets. A similar bill died last year in committee. "Most kids ride bikes, so almost every kid has a bicycle helmet and they could use that for sledding, too," Panagiotakos said. "It’s not like it’s an extra cost to the family."

April Simpson of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:26 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick to help pay for Cadillac, office furnishings

By Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick, bowing to criticism after he leased a car that cost $6,500 more a year than the one used by his predecessor, announced this afternoon that he would do more than just reimburse the state for the additional expense.

Patrick said he would also pay the state $27,387 for new furnishings in the governor's office. That will be in addition to the $543 he promised to pay a month toward the $1,166 lease of his Cadillac DeVille DTS. Mitt Romney used a Ford Crown Victoria that cost the state $623 a month when he was governor.

"All weekend long, I have been struggling with the budget constraints we are facing in the Commonwealth," Patrick said in a statement issued after 5 p.m. "There are tough choices to make. I realize I cannot in good conscience ask the agencies to make those choices without being willing to make them myself."

Last week, Patrick defended his choice of the Cadillac, saying initially that he abandoned the more customary and less expensive Crown Victoria used by Romney because "they don't make it anymore."

The governor's aides acknowledged a few hours later that Patrick was mistaken. Crown Victorias are still being made, they said, but the car's side airbags interfered with special security equipment that needed to be installed.

The $46,000 Deville raised questions about Patrick's spending habits at a time when the state was facing a fiscal crunch. Last month, Patrick asked all of his agencies to find ways to cut 5 to 10 percent from their budgets.

The new governor has also been criticized for using a State Police helicopter twice during his first six weeks in office. Romney only used the helicopter once during his four-year term.

Other scrutiny has focused on Patrick's hiring of a $72,000-a-year aide to handle scheduling and interview requests for wife, Diane, a law partner at Ropes & Gray. The new aide, Amy Gorin of Wellesley, and her husband, Norm, led the governor's fund-raising committee.

Posted by aryan at 5:24 PM | Comments (0)

Dad and son survive drama at icy Plymouth pond

By Mac Daniel, Globe staff

A 15-year-old boy casually walked back to shore after plunging into the frigid waters of Great Herring Pond in Plymouth this afternoon while riding an all-terrain vehicle.

His father wasn't as lucky and needed to be rescued from the icy water after falling in a few minutes later while trying to retrieve the vehicle, authorities said.

The incident happened around 3 p.m. as Daniel Anderson was riding the four-wheel vehicle on the melting ice. After falling through the ice, police said the boy reportedly got himself out of the water and walked leisurely back to shore.

Plymouth Police said the boy's father, Steven L. Anderson, 51, also fell through the ice about 30 feet from a nearby dock.

Anderson was unable to get himself out of the water and neighbors began throwing items to him to help free him, police said.

The Plymouth Fire Department sent a boat to rescue Steven L. Anderson, said Battalion Chief Daniel Braley. The ATV remained overturned in the water when fire officials left the scene, he said.

Steven L. Anderson was taken by ambulance to Jordan Hospital while his son, who complained about shivering, was taken to the hospital by an uncle.

A hospital spokesman said Steven L. Anderson remained in the emergency room and was listed in good condition. The hospital had no record of Daniel Anderson being admitted.

Posted by mbello at 5:23 PM | Comments (0)

Police describe escape and shooting outside Cape Cod courthouse

(Barnstable Police Department)

A Barnstable police office shot Anthony Roberts in the chest this morning after authorities allege he escaped while being taken to court to be arraigned.

By Brian R. Ballou, Raja Mishra, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

BARNSTABLE -- Anthony Roberts used his double-jointed thumb to squeeze out of handcuffs this morning as officers were driving him and three other defendants to Barnstable Superior Court to be arraigned, police said. When the two Barnstable police officers opened the doors to the prisoner transport van, Roberts overpowered the men and escaped, running into the busy pedestrian traffic outside the courthouse, police said.

Police described the ensuing chaos at an afternoon press conference, saying that passersby scrambled for safety when Roberts stole a car and careened around a parking lot. Even Cape and Islands District Attorney District Attorney Michael D. O'Keefe, who stepped outside to fetch a cup of coffee, had to duck for cover.

The commotion came to a screeching halt at about 8:30 a.m. when a Barnstable police officer shot Roberts once in the chest and he crashed the green Honda Civic into a brick wall, police said. Sergeant Sean Sweeney said it was not yet clear if Roberts was shot before or after he crashed. Police would not release the name of the officer who pulled the trigger.

Roberts was listed in critical condition this afternoon at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, according to spokeswoman Bonnie Prescott. The 22-year-old had been arrested on Friday and charged with leaving the scene of an accident, according to his attorney J. Drew Segadelli, who said he has represented him for more than a year on a variety of charges.

Police also charged Roberts with forgery and drug possession after they allege they found stolen credit cards and some marijuana in his possession. Segadelli said police have accused Roberts of a string of recent break-ins on Cape Cod.

When Roberts escaped, he stole the green Honda from a parking lot of the Barnstable General Store, which is across from the courthouse, according to police, his lawyer, and witnesses. Megan Burke, 24, was working at the store when she said there was a commotion outside.

"We heard what we thought was a loud crash," said Burke in a telephone interview. "We ran out the door and saw this green car crash into the wall outside court."

About 15 Barnstable police officers and court officers were running after the car, Burke said. The officers were yelling, "'Get out of the car' with their guns drawn," Burke said. Roberts was bloody and had already been shot, Burke said.

One of the police officers used a baton to break one of the windows of the car, Burke said. A court officer got in the car next to Roberts and waited for an ambulance to arrive. Paramedics pulled the man out of the car and put him on a stretcher, Burke said.

The incident remains under investigation.

(Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff)

A man is in critical condition today after his lawyer said he was shot by a Barnstable police officer during an escape attempt. The man stole a car, which he crashed outside Barnstable Superior Court, the lawyer said.

Posted by aryan at 4:50 PM | Comments (0)

Meehan one of three finalists for chancellor at UMass-Lowell

By Globe Staff

US Representative Martin T. Meehan was one of the three finalists named today in the search for the next chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, intensifying the jockeying for his seat by Democrats stuck in a stagnant political landscape.

Meehan, 50, a Lowell native who has spent seven terms in office, was joined on the list of finalists by David C. Chang, chancellor of the Polytechnic University, and Nabil A. Ibrahim, the vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Purdue University in Calumet.

"I am honored to be recommended as one of the finalists for the position of Chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell," Meehan said in a statement. "As a proud alumnus of the University, any success I have had in my career I owe to the strong foundation I received at UMass Lowell."

The Globe reported last month that Meehan had emerged on the short list of candidates. His departure would set off a political stampede and create the first competitive fight for a Bay State congressional district in more than five years.

Eager candidates wasted no time positioning themselves for a run for the seat. State Representative Jamie Eldridge, a Democrat from Acton, announced today that he created an exploratory committee to facilitate a run for Congress if Meehan gets the chancellor's job.

Meehan became the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on oversight and investigations when Democrats took control of Congress last month. He is currently in Iraq leading a fact-finding trip that could be the groundwork for investigations and hearings into the war.

Meehan saw one of his political ambitions fade last month, when John F. Kerry dropped out of the 2008 presidential race and announced he would seek reelection to his Senate seat.

UMass President Jack M. Wilson will choose among the three finalists. His selection must be approved by the university's Board of Trustees.

A spokeswoman for UMass-Lowell said officials hope that Wilson will make his choice in time for the board to vote during its next meeting on March 14. All three finalists are expected to make visits to campus in the coming weeks.

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

Programs for homeless in Mass. get $57 million

By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent

The US Department of Housing and Urban development announced today that more than 250 local programs for the homeless in Massachusetts will receive more than $57.4 million, including $19.1 million for agencies in Boston.

The grants, part of $1.4 billion awarded nationwide, will go to local programs offering services such as job training, housing, counseling, and child care for the homeless and their families.

The Pine Street Inn, Home Start Inc., and Boston Medical Center are among programs set to receive funding.

Posted by aryan at 2:32 PM | Comments (0)

Man pleads not guilty to Charlestown slaying

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

An Allston man pleaded not guilty today to charges he shot and killed a 20-year-old outside a Charlestown housing development the day after Christmas last year. Charged with first-degree murder, Carlos A. Maldonado, 24, was ordered held without bail by Boston Municipal Court Judge Anthony Sullivan.

Defense attorney David Sokol said that Maldonado, 24, was an active duty member of the US Coast Guard on the day of the killing and has since completed his four year enlistment. Coast Guard officials are currently checking records in an attempt to verify Sokok's claims at the Globe's request.

Sokol also said in court that Maldonado worked with three anti-gang groups and was trying to stem gang violence in Charlestown. He suggested that gang members were trying to falsely incriminate Maldonado as retribution for his work.

But Suffolk Assistant District Attorney David Fredette told the court that Maldonado was identified by several witnesses. Some of the accusers identified Maldonado by name, while others called him by his nickname, which is "Braveheart," according to court records.

Fredette did not offer a motive for the shooting, but he said it stemmed from a fist fight between several people on Monument Street that escalated into a larger conflict. Fredette alleged that the fight ended when Maldonado shot Parrilla several times.

Parrilla, whose family has told The Globe was affiliated with a notorious street gang, was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital and pronounced dead.

Posted by aryan at 1:23 PM | Comments (0)

Judge declares mistrial in Weis malpractice lawsuit

By Mike Reiss and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A Suffolk Superior Court judge declared a mistrial in former Patriot coach Charlie Weis's medical malpractice lawsuit today after two doctors involved in the case came to the aid of juror who passed out during testimony.

The juror began audibly gasping and collapsed at about 10:15 a.m. Several doctors -- including the two surgeons accused of botching Weis's gastric bypass -- rushed to help. People in the courtroom began to shout: "Call 911! Call 911!"

Several people called for help, including one of the doctors' defense attorneys. An ambulance rushed the juror to a local hospital. His condition was not immediately available.

Weis's lawyer, Michael E. Mone, quickly filed a motion for a mistrial after the man fell ill, arguing that the other jurors could have been influenced by what happened in court.

"I talked to my client and told him he basically had no choice," Mone said outside court. "He was very reluctant to have a mistrial, but I told him there was no choice, and we had to have a mistrial."

Judge Charles Spurlock called the remaining jurors to the bench one-by-one and asked if they felt they could remain impartial if the trial continued. Dailey, the defense attorney, argued that after more than a week of testimony the case was near its conclusion and should go on.

"I certainly wasn't supportive of the mistrial. I opposed it vehemently," Dailey said outside the courtroom. "We were very optimistic that there was going to be a good result and be no negligence found."

Spurlock took the motion under advisement and declared a mistrial after a short recess. Testimony had resumed today after the long holiday weekend, following Friday's appearance by Patriot quarterback Tom Brady.

Weis has charged that his doctors -- Charles M. Ferguson and Richard A. Hodin -- acted negligently when they let him bleed internally for 30 hours after surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in June 2002. He alleges that he suffered permanent nerve damage in his feet that has stopped him from walking with his wife, playing with his children, or running on the football field with his team at the start of a game at Notre Dame, where he is head coach.

Dailey, the surgeons' lawyer, has said in court that Weis had been told about the dangers of a gastric bypass, including the risk of internal bleeding. The doctors did their best and saved his life when complications arose, Dailey said.

Weis testified last week that he decided to have the surgery because he did not want to die of a heart attack, as his father did at age 56. He weighed almost 350 pounds when he underwent the procedure.

Brady testified on Friday that he kept a vigil at Weis's bedside after the surgery as he watched the coach he called his mentor drift in and out of consciousness.

The juror collapsed during the testimony of expert witness for the defense, Dr. David C. Brooks, the general surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Posted by aryan at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2007

City to Crack Down on Icy Sidewalks

By James Vaznis
Globe Staff

Since last week’s heartless Valentine’s Day Nor’easter, the city has cited about 800 homeowners and businesses for not clearing sidewalks of ice.

Officers will continue their crackdown on violators today.

‘‘We will be out in full force,’’ said Michael Mackan, captain of the city code enforcement police.

Last week’s storm slickened many sidewalks, creating a treacherous walk for those navigating walkways while forcing others to take to the streets, which have much less or no ice. Officials did not have statistics on those injured by falls on clogged pedestrian venues.

Even yesterday’s warmer temperatures — which reached 34 degrees — did not melt much ice. Folks had to be out there with their salt, choppers, and shovels, Mackan said.

Many were not. Homeowners and businesses are responsible for shoveling sidewalks and removing ice after a storm. A residential violation is $15, while a commercial violation is $50.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino has asked residents to help elderly neighbors clear the sidewalks.

Mother Nature certainly won’t. Mackan said he was expecting conditions to worsen before getting better. Temperatures are expected to reach only 24 degrees today, according to the National Weather Service, and forecasts late yesterday afternoon called for a low of 13 degrees and a dusting of snow overnight.

‘‘It will cover the ice,’’ Mackan said. ‘‘People will slip and fall. It will be dangerous.’’

Posted by dfilipov at 8:01 PM | Comments (0)

Stop and Shop, Secret Service, Trying to Determine Extent of Data Theft

By Peter Howe
Globe Staff
SEEKONK __ With help from US Secret Service agents, Stop and Shop Supermarket Cos. cq executives scrambled yesterday to determine how many consumers may have had their credit and debit card data stolen by high-tech thieves who apparently broke into checkout-line card readers and planted the equivalent of bugs to steal information.

Stop & Shop said customer information, including personal identification codes for cards, was confirmed stolen from supermarkets in Coventry and Cranston, R.I. cq The company said it had found evidence of card readers that were tampered with in a similar way at four other stores in Seekonk and in Bristol, Providence, and Warwick, R.I. cq But the supermarket company said it had no reports of illegal transactions charged on cards that had been used at those stores.

After being notified by a bank last week that its Coventry and Cranston stores appeared to be the common link to a number of stolen card numbers, Quincy-based Stop & Shop has bolted down and secured card readers at all 385 of its supermarkets in New England, New York, and New Jersey, company spokesman Robert Keane cq said yesterday.

"They would not now be able to tamper with the units the way they did before,'' Keane said. He declined to reveal details of how the scam worked, other than to say it involved card readers being removed, tampered with, and reinstalled. "Our investigation has not uncovered any involvement or suspected involvement of any Stop & Shop personnel in the tampering,'' Keane said.

Several shoppers interviewed yesterday at the Seekonk Stop & Shop said they were astonished that they now had to worry about another way identity thieves could steal their credit card data.

"They need to upgrade their security or whatever, because something's wrong,'' said Matt Tucker cq of East Providence.

The Stop & Shop case will serve as a warning to retailers that they must get vigilant about securing, protecting, and inspecting scanners for evidence of tampering. The devices are often called PIN pads because they are used for consumers to enter their personal identification number when charging a purchase on a card.

In law enforcement's never-ending battle against identity theft, the use of sophisticated technology to grab credit card data from scanners "is definitely becoming more common,'' said Judith M. Leary, president of Identity Force, a Framingham data security company whose customers include the federal General Services Administration.

Leary said there are no reliable statistics on how often thieves infiltrate card readers, but she she said she knows of a number of cases of stores, as well as bank teller machines, being attacked.

Yesterday, other retailers were taking note.

"Shaw’s takes careful precautions in protecting the personal information of our customers," Judy Chong cq, a spokeswoman for Shaw's Supermarkets Inc. of East Bridgewater, another major New England supermarket chain, said in an e-mail. "We consistently review our methods, processes and technology in our ongoing efforts to protect our customers’ private information.''

Leary said the initial reports suggest the Stop & Shop situation is unlikely to represent the kind of security breach that was revealed in January at TJX Cos. of Framingham, parent company of Marshall's, TJ Maxx and other stores. In that case, thieves broke into a computer database, potentially as early as 2003, and stole credit card numbers by the millions to make illegal purchases from Florida to Hong Kong.

Based on what has been reported so far, Leary said, the Stop & Shop approach would yield only a few credit card numbers per hour as consumers rang up sales at the checkout lines -- one each in Coventry and Cranston, according to the company -- where devices had been tampered with.

"Do I think it's the magnitude of a TJX situation? No.,'' Leary said. "But for each individual who's had their personal information compromised, it doesn't matter. It's still such a nightmare to get the problems resolved."

Normally banks and credit card companies do not hold consumers responsible for fraudulent charges clearly made by identity thieves, but it can take victims hours to get new cards and get their credit reports cleared up.

Customers who used credit or debit cards at the six Stop & Shop stores were being advised by the company to check their bank and credit card statements carefully for suspicious transactions. Keane said card numbers used by customers at the Coventry and Cranston stores "in early February" were stolen. But until the investigation is complete, Keane said, he could not say for how long before that, if at all, numbers may have been stolen.

Police in Cranston and Coventry said detectives investing the case were not available to comment. An aide to the Secret Service's Boston special agent in charge, Steven Ricciardi cq, said he was not available yesterday. The service, part of the Treasury Department, leads many government credit-card-fraud investigations.

Inside the Seekonk Stop & Shop cq, store employees pointed out newly installed bolts on the mounts for the pin pads, intended to thwart anyone from sliding the card readers off the mount to get at the underside of the device or the wires that connect it to the cash register.

But at least one shopper was blase'.

Al Mendes cq of Seekonk, who had just finished shopping yesterday afternoon and charged it on his credit card, said he would not worry if his number got stolen.

"The credit card company eats it,'' Mendes said. "Not me.''

Posted by dfilipov at 4:25 PM | Comments (0)

Ex-Brady Girlfriend Says She's Pregnant With His Child

By Mark Shanahan
Globe Staff

Bridget Moynahan, who recently ended a three-year relationship with Tom Brady, is pregnant and says the New England Patriots quarterback is the father.

The New York Post, which first reported the pregnancy this morning, quoted Moynahan's publicist as saying that the 36-year-old actress is more than three months pregnant and feeling "healthy and excited." The publicist, Christina Padadopoulos, later told US Weekly magazine: "(Moynahan's) former boyfriend Tom Brady is the father. Privacy and consideration is appreciated at this time. No further comments will be made."

Brady, 29, who has been dating supermodel Gisele Bundchen since he and Moynahan announced their break-up in mid December, could not be reached for comment yesterday, and neither his agent, Don Yee, nor Patriots spokesman Stacey James returned phone calls. It will be the first child for both Moynahan and the two-time Super Bowl MVP.

A former model best known for her role opposite Will Smith in the science-fiction thriller "I, Robot," Moynahan had made no secret of her desire to start a family. Asked last fall what she'd like to be doing in five years, the actress, who grew up in Longmeadow, replied, "Definitely marriage and kids."

Although the break-up with Brady was said to be amicable, there were tabloid reports that Moynahan has since become depressed and lost weight. Last week, the statuesque actress looked healthy at the New York premiere of her new film, "Gray Matters," in which she shares an on-screen kiss with co-star Heather Graham.

Brady, meanwhile, hasn't missed a beat. Just before Christmas, the star quarterback began romancing Bundchen, the 26-year-old Brazilian beauty whose ex-boyfriends include actor Leonardo DiCaprio and surfer Kelly Slater. Brady and Bundchen have been photographed coming and going from the Victoria Secrets model's SoHo apartment building, and Brady is reported to have given Bundchen a pair of diamond earrings for Valentine's Day.

The quarterback, whose last-minute interception against the Indianapolis Colts ended the Patriots season, was back in Boston last week to testify in Charlie Weis's malpractice suit. Weis, the Patriots's former offensive coordinator who's now head coach at Notre Dame, contends that negligence by two Massachusetts General Hospital doctors after his gastric bypass surgery nearly killed him.

Brady's impending fatherhood surprised some of his fans yesterday. At Champions Sports Bar in Copley Square, where a crowd was gathered to watch the NBA All-Star Game, Kirsten Grudzinski said she's curious to know when Brady first learned that Moynahan was pregnant.

“I thought he was an upstanding guy,” said Grudzinski, 44, who lives in Barry. “I’m really shocked. If he didn’t know, what can he do? But if he did, that tarnishes his image as the Golden Boy.”

But Grudzinski's husband cautioned that Brady is a decent guy and likely will do right by his ex-girlfriend.

“If he doesn’t accept responsibility, that would be even more unbelievable,” Mike Grudzinski said, finishing his beer.

Given that the couple were together for nearly three years, Randy Gomes, who lives on Cape Cod, said he had expected Moynahan to get pregnant before now.

"It’ll be a beautiful child,” Gomes said. “It has genetics in its favor.”

Posted by dfilipov at 4:17 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2007

A call for peace on violent Boston streets

By Brian Ballou, Globe Staff

With purple peace ribbons waving in their hands, a small group of elected officials and anti-violence activists marched through one of Boston's most crime-ridden neighborhoods today, calling for an end to bloodshed and more jobs and better education for the city's youth.

City councilors Sam Yoon, Charles Yancey, and Felix Arroyo were among the speakers at the Community Peace Day event organized by the Haitkaah Social Justice Center.

Other speakers included Joao DePina, who told the crowd that he had lost five good friends to violence, including Adilson Barros, who was fatally shot on Bowdoin Street last October.

After about eight speeches, the crowd, led by a Boston police cruiser, started marching down Bowdoin Street in the Dorchester neighborhood. Their path took them through Draper, Hamilton, and Home Streets, all of which have experienced bloodshed in the past two years.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:28 PM | Comments (0)

February 16, 2007

Terror suspect with New Hampshire roots

By Charles A. Radin
GLOBE STAFF

METHUEN — Daniel Maldonado, a slender young man in his early 20s with tattoos and dreadlocks, entered the Selimiye Mosque in a densely populated neighborhood of central Methuen with a humble request for help converting to Islam.

But as his commitment to ever purer, more intense religious observance deepened over the next several years, he became critical of other Muslims’ observance of the faith, until the imam who helped him convert told him to refrain from judging others or to leave the mosque.

Maldonado, on the road to Islamic fundamentalism, which would ultimately lead him to Somalia, decided to leave.

Soner Uguz knew Maldonado from the beginning of his journey into Islam.

‘‘I met Danny the week he converted, about seven years ago,’’ said Uguz, whom mosque members yesterday called Maldonado’s best friend. ‘‘He was cool. He dressed in T-shirts and jeans and didn’t hide any of his tattoos. His hair was in dreadlocks. He was eager, and he had a lot of questions.’’

All that changed radically.

Last week in a federal court in Houston, where he had been living for a while before he went overseas, he became the first US citizen to be charged with participating in terrorist activities in Somalia.

Maldonado, who grew up in Pelham, N.H., and later lived in Methuen, became immersed in Islam and attended prayer sessions regularly at Selimiye Mosque. He began wearing traditional Arab clothing, including the galabeyah, an ankle-length gown with long sleeves that covered the tattoos on his arms. He struggled to grow the beard of a religious Muslim. When he could not, he blamed his Puerto Rican heritage, and began chastising fellow Muslims who could grow a full beard and chose not to.

His wife dressed in a burkah exposing only her eyes and wore gloves in public. The couple’s daughter, a toddler at the time, wore the hijab headcovering, though under most interpretations of Muslim law this practice is required only after a girl reaches puberty. They renamed their son, Anthony, as Mohammed.

He was no longer the eager and humble young man he had been when he entered the mosque for the first time around 2000 or 2001.

‘‘He was arrogant, he knew the book [the Koran] better than anyone,’’ Uguz said at the mosque yesterday afternoon after prayers. ‘‘He went from loving rap to hating poetry.’’

Another worshiper at the mosque, Matthew Yusuf Trombly — who like Maldonado is 28 and a convert to Islam from Christianity — said Maldonado fell victim to ‘‘the zeal of the convert.’’

Within the congregation, Trombly said, ‘‘the general attitude was that he was just learning Islam, and maybe trying to do too much too fast, and got confused.

Still, said Trombly, ‘‘he was friendly. He came across as a street kid, and that was charming in a way. You don’t run into kids like Danny Maldonado every day. He had a lot of charisma.

‘‘People say that when he first came he loved music and would talk about how much he loved rap,’’ Trombly said. ‘‘But by the time I really got to know him, in 2004, you would never mention music to him. You knew what you were going to get’’ — a lecture on sin.

Opinionated, outspoken, and charismatic also are the words chosen to describe Maldonado in his high school days by Dorothy Mohr, principal of Pelham High School in Pelham, N.H., where Maldonado dropped out in February 1997, during his junior year.

‘‘Danny was always an outspoken student — though I use the word ‘student’ lightly,’’ Mohr said. ‘‘He’d show up late for class, without the materials or homework, but he would know what we were talking about. Then he would go off on a tangent, and get adamant about it.’’

Maldonado’s intensity then was directed at political subjects, not religion, she said. He was not a member of a group and had no involvement in school activities that Mohr could recall. But, she said, ‘‘kids would willingly listen to him. They’d never say to him ‘be quiet, you don’t know what you’re talking about.’ He had charisma.’’

Maldonado also had brushes with the local police, but there was nothing serious, or suggestive of his alleged turn toward terrorism.
‘‘It was traffic violations and typical high school things, loud house parties and things like that,’’ said Captain Joseph Roark of the Pelham Police Department.

Still, Roark said, he wonders now what was going on in Maldonado’s head as he made his way through adolescence.

‘‘He was a bit detached, kind of distant,’’ Roark said.

Friends at the mosque also saw a dreamer in Maldonado. ‘‘He used to tell me he wanted to get a visa and live in Yemen because they spoke the purest Arabic there,’’ Uguz said. ‘‘We told him to cut it out — we never thought he’d do it, for the sake of the kids.’’

Maldonado did not go to Yemen to live. But in August 2005 he left Massachusetts and moved to Houston, then in November of that year he moved to Egypt with his wife and three children. A year later, according to an affidavit from the FBI agent who filed the terrorism charges against Maldonado in Houston last week, he moved to Somalia, where he underwent military training and studied bomb-making.

He is scheduled to appear in federal court to face those charges on Tuesday. Conviction could mean life imprisonment.

He said he would have ‘‘no problem’’ killing Americans because he was angry with the United States, according to an affidavit filed in US District Court, Southern District of Texas, and he had ‘‘no problem’’ with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The Houston Chronicle and Houston station KHOU-TV said in a teamed report yesterday that Maldonado’s wife, Tamekia Cunningham, died of a high fever probably caused by malaria during the couple’s time in East Africa. The newspaper, which did not identify its sources of information, said that the couple’s children have been brought by US officials to their grandparents in New England.

Relatives of Maldonado who live in Londonderry, N.H., declined to comment about him yesterday.

The Muslims who gathered to talk about Maldonado after prayers in the Methuen mosque yesterday afternoon said they were worried that what Maldonado is alleged to have done would reflect badly, and unfairly, on Islam and on their mosque in particular.

‘‘We saw him as a person who was into studying, rather than physical jihad,’’ Trombly said. ‘‘But everything about him changed, so I can’t say I am completely surprised.’’

Posted by mbrelis at 9:37 PM | Comments (0)

Long gone auctioneer found in Pennsylvania

By Michael Levenson
GLOBE STAFF

On April 3, 2002, Claude Van Tassel took his wife, Beatrice, shopping. They browsed the aisles at an Ames store in Dover, N.H., 25 miles from their home in Lyman, Maine. Van Tassel told his wife of 33 years he was going for a cup of coffee.

Then he vanished.

Police searched the shopping center, then the woods nearby, then called in bloodhounds and a helicopter. But there were no signs of the stout, balding 65-year-old with faded blue jeans and beige jacket.

Last week, out of the blue, the FBI called his family. Van Tassel was alive, he was healthy, he was living in Allentown, Pa. But, no, he did not want them to call or come see him. The 71-year-old father of 12 requested that his family not be given his phone number or his exact address, the FBI said.

Now, the family is trying to come to grips with the reappearance of a family patriarch that is as mysterious as his disappearance five years ago.

‘‘They won’t tell us nothing,’’ Tim Pryor, 20, one of 17 grandchildren, said yesterday. ‘‘All we want is proof he’s alive — call, speak to us — and me, I’d like to see him in person and ask him why he left — but that’s between him and us and the rest of the family that are here.’’

He added, ‘‘The only thing I heard is he has a new job, a new lifestyle.’’

Authorities say they must respect Van Tassel’s wishes. Detective Sergeant Jeff Mutter of the Dover Police Department, which led the search for Van Tassel, said the department considers the case closed.

‘‘If it was under suspicious circumstances, we would have sent a detective down there to talk to him, but that isn’t the case,’’ Mutter said Friday. ‘‘He did not want to be contacted by any family. He went on his own volition and decided to relocate and probably start a new life.’’

In his old life, Van Tassel was a well-known auctioneer. He hawked toy trains, binoculars, lanterns, and fishing rods from an old barn in Standish, Maine. A 1998 story in the Portland Press Herald, before his disappearance, noted his spitfire voice — ‘‘I’ve got 50. Who’ll go 60?’’ — and his penchant for folksy humor: ‘‘C’mon folks,’’ he would cajole buyers, ‘‘this would go for $400 in New York.’’

‘‘He’s a very nice guy,’’ Pryor said. ‘‘Anybody who’s seen him, done business with him, knows he was a good man, he was a loving guy to be around.’’

He was also, perhaps, troubled. In 2001, before his most recent disappearance, he went missing for two months. On that occasion, he also told his wife he was going for a cup of coffee. But then he took his pickup truck and drove off. He was spotted at a casino in Connecticut, before slipping away from authorities. Police eventually found his truck in Ohio, and then found him, living in a homeless shelter in Iowa.

A break in his second disappearance came recently, when Van Tassel submitted a rental application in Allentown, and a credit check showed his name on a database of missing persons. An FBI agent visited, verified it was him, and contacted the family.

Beatrice Van Tassel, now 68, is bewildered.

‘‘We were very close and we did everything together, every day,’’ she told Foster’s Daily Democrat, which first reported Van Tassel’s reappearance. ‘‘I don’t know what to think, I still feel something happened to him. Why would he be in Pennsylvania and not call us? I mean that’s not that far away.’’

Posted by mbrelis at 9:00 PM | Comments (0)

Window into Puritan past

By Brian MacQuarrie
GLOBE STAFF

To the uninitiated, the dirty mix of mud, bone, and cow dung is a 350-year-old piece of trash. But to archeologists, the recent discovery at Boston’s oldest house is a gleaming, golden nugget.

The brick-hard concoction, used in the mid-17th century for insulation and retrieved during restoration at the James Blake House in Dorchester, is giving archeologists their earliest glimpse of the everyday lives of the city’s first European settlers.

The mix, called wattle and daub, will be examined under a microscope beginning next week in the city’s archeology lab. What researchers find, they say, could change long-held theories about what the early Puritans ate and farmed, and how they built their houses.

‘‘This is a window of opportunity that we have here right now,’’ said city archeologist Ellen Berkland, who is live-in curator at the house in Edward Everett Square. ‘‘It will be sealed up soon with new shingles, and we won’t be able to get to it for another 100 years.’’

What they have found so far at the house, built about 1648, is a hardy oak frame, hand-hewn beams and boards, hand-forged nails, and meticulous construction that has withstood the withering test of time. The restoration crew also has found wooden braces in hidden, unexpected places among long-concealed timbers, human hair in the wattle-and-daub, and a smattering of buttons, badges, and textiles.

‘‘This is very cool,’’ said Jerry Eide, a preservation contractor, as he inspected part of the exposed skeleton of the house. ‘‘I’m learning new things every day.’’

Indeed, Eide said that the quality of wood, with its hard texture and straight grain, is superior to much of today’s building materials.
‘‘The saving grace is that they overbuilt,’’ said John Goff, a preservation consultant who studied the Blake House in preparation for the project. ‘‘It could easily last 1,000 years if it’s maintained properly.’’

Eide and co-worker Larry Hess began work on the house in November, buoyed by a $50,000 state grant and matching funds. Since then, the roof has been replaced with water-resistant cedar shingles, and about 30 percent of the exterior has been examined, repaired, and returned to the condition of the house’s last restoration in 1896.

The work is scheduled to continue until May. For a history buff such as Eide, who has worked on several first-generation Colonial structures in Massachusetts, the project doesn’t seem like work at all.

‘‘People ask me how they did it,’’ Eide said admiringly. ‘‘They did it however they could.’’

For James Blake, a farmer, selectman, clergyman, and deputy to the General Court, that meant using virgin timber, including a massive central beam cut from a tree that already was two centuries old in 1648. The architectural style, brought to Dorchester by Puritans from the west of England, was also replicated in the early communities in Cape Ann and Salem.

Eide has enclosed the two-story house in a roof-to-ground tarp to protect an exterior being stripped of its shingles. Inside the shingles is a horizontal layer of original oak boards that have been nailed to the frame. The third layer is the wattle and daub, which usually mixed mud, grass, and cow dung. Finally, two or three coats of plaster have been used to whitewash the inside walls.

Berkland said the composition of the wattle and daub has surprised her. A preliminary analysis Feb. 9 at the city’s archeology lab showed human and animal hair, as well as burned bone, in addition to the usual ingredients.

‘‘You’re getting an environmental reconstruction,’’ Berkland said of the mansion house that in the 17th century overlooked farmland that swept down to now-filled South Bay.

Posted by mbrelis at 8:19 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick makes appointment to Pike Board after resignation

By Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today appointed the state secretary of transportation and public works to serve on the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

Bernard Cohen will fill a vacancy left by Thomas Trimarco, a board member appointed by former governor Mitt Romney in July. Trimarco resigned earlier this week in part because he said he was frustrated that Patrick opposed eliminating of some tolls on the highway. His term did not expire until June 2009.

As transportation secretary, Cohen would have been automatically appointed the board’s chairman on July 1. Patrick said he will appoint a new board member when Cohen becomes chair.

"Secretary Cohen's experience and sound judgment will contribute mightily to the Authority," Patrick said in a statement. "His understanding and enthusiasm for the job will be key in realizing our goal of a transportation network that improves the quality of life for our citizens and helps move our economy forward."

Cohen will forego a salary for serving on the board, Patrick said.

Posted by aryan at 5:16 PM | Comments (0)

Harvard psychiatrist will help DSS

By Globe Staff

State Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby announced today that a Harvard specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry will help state Department of Social Services, which acknowledged it needed more expertise after the death of 4-year-old Rebecca Riley.

Gordon Harper, who is also a pediatrician and was formerly director of inpatient psychiatry at Children's Hospital Boston, will coordinate state child psychiatrists and other resources, Bigby said. Harper will assist DSS until the agency develops a medical review system

Rebecca, whose family had prior DSS involvement, died Dec. 13 of an overdose of a drug prescribed for hyperactivity, police say. Her parents have been charged with murder for allegedly giving her too much of the drug intentionally.

Posted by srhee at 4:36 PM | Comments (0)

Police: man shoots in crowd outside Lynn bar

By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Staff

Five people suffered minor injuries early this morning when a man opened fire outside a bar in Lynn, police said.

At 2 a.m., police received a report that a fight in Sori's Restaurant had spilled out onto Market Street. When officers arrived, they discovered that a man had brandished a gun and shot into the crowd.

Police said they found shell casings and damage to several storefronts.

The victims were taken to local hospitals, treated and released.

Officers arrested one member of the crowd who they say was involved in the fight. Police charged Gauthier Pequito, 24, of Lynn, with disorderly conduct, said Lieutenant Dave Brown, who provided no details about Pequito's role in the incident.

No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting, which remains under investigation, Brown said.

Posted by aryan at 3:53 PM | Comments (0)

Police make arrest in Charlestown slaying

By Globe Staff

Boston Police announced this afternoon that they have arrested a suspect in the shooting death of a 20-year-old man in Charlestown the day after Christmas.

Police said that Carlos Maldonado, 24, of Boston was taken into custody today and charged with murder.

Mark Parilla, the city's 73rd homicide victim, was gunned down on Monument Street. His mother had feared that a tradition of silence in Charlestown would make an arrest difficult. She also said he was involved with the Bloods street gang in New York and in Boston.

Posted by srhee at 3:09 PM | Comments (0)

Meehan leads committee to Iraq

By Globe Staff

Congressman Martin T. Meehan will head to Iraq on Saturday for a fact-finding mission in the Middle East.

Meehan, a Democrat who may vacate his seat to run the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, is the chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. He will lead a bipartisan delegation from his committee in what will be his fourth trip to Iraq since the war began.

"I expect to see a country vastly different than the one I visited in the summer of 2003 and in January of 2005," Meehan said in a statement. "The Congress is currently engaged in its first debate over Iraq since we invaded in 2003, and as we move forward, I think it is important for us to take a much closer look at the reality of what is going on in Iraq."

The group plans to meet with General David Petraeus; Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq Reconstruction; and David Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq. Meehan's trip will also to take him to Kuwait, Jordan, and Belgium.

Meehan's subcommittee has the authority to investigate military actions. He has vowed to hold hearings on issues in the Iraq war, ranging from the role of contractors on the battlefield to the training of security forces.

Posted by aryan at 1:44 PM | Comments (0)

Boston Latin headmaster to retire

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Cornelia A. Kelley will retire as the leader of Boston Latin School on June 30 after serving as the esteemed institution's first female headmaster.

Kelley announced her plans today to teachers, students, parents, and alumni.

"It's time for the next generation to take over," Kelley said in an interview.

During her nine-year tenure, Kelley oversaw a $32 million renovation that included a new library, dining hall, and visual and performing arts center. Kelley began her career at the school in 1980 as an English teacher, and later went on to teach Latin and Greek, before becoming assistant headmaster in 1987.

A panel of parents, student, faculty, and alumni will be involved in selecting her replacement.

Founded in 1635, Boston Latin is the oldest public school in the United States.

Posted by aryan at 1:11 PM | Comments (0)

Driver cited in Kingston school bus crash

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Kingston police issued a summons today for the man whose Jeep Cherokee hit a school bus Thursday and injured eight students after investigators determined that there was no ice in the roadway before the accident.

Joshua Pierce, 21, of Kingston, was issued a criminal summons that charged him with driving recklessly so as to endanger, said Sergeant John Lind. Pierce suffered head and neck injuries in the early morning crash and was rushed to a Boston hospital. Lind did not have information today about his condition.

The eight students from Silver Lake Regional High School and the bus driver were treated Thursday for minor injuries at Jordan Hospital.
Kingston police said Pierce turned onto Pembroke Street at about 7 a.m., swerved into oncoming traffic, and hit the yellow school bus.

Posted by aryan at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

Two drivers killed, two hurt in crashes

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

A series of single-car crashes this morning in Eastern Massachusetts left two women dead and two teenagers with life-threatening injuries, according to the State Police.

Authorities said it is too early to determine if icy roads played a factor in any of the wrecks, but excessive speed is being considered as a factor in one of the fatalities. All four victims were drivers and there were no other occupants in the vehicles.

The first crash happened at 1:30 a.m. on Route 195 in Swansea. Sarah A. Coggeshall, 30, of Marion, lost control of her 1997 Toyota Tacoma, which veered off the left shoulder into the median, continued through a wooded area and rolled over, coming to rest on its roof. Coggeshall, who was wearing her seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The left lane of Route 195 East was closed for three hours.

About 90 minutes later, a 19-year-old man driving east on Bacon Street in Natick lost control of his vehicle, crossed the center line, and hit a snow bank. Authorities believe the vehicle went airborne before it hit a tree in the front yard of a house. The victim, whose name was not released, is in critical condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Then, at about 8:45 a.m., a 1998 Toyota Camry traveling east on Route 6 in Sandwich veered left then right and rolled over. The female driver was ejected and was pronounced dead at the scene. Her name is being withheld pending notification of family. According to a State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction team, excessive speed may have been a factor.

The last accident occurred at 9 a.m. in Bolton, when a 17-year-old driver crashed on I-495 South of Route 11. The victim, whose identity was withheld, was rushed to a hospital with critical injuries.

Posted by srhee at 12:01 PM | Comments (0)

Brady recounts Weis's 'pain' after surgery

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Court officers escorted Patriots quarterback Tom Brady into Suffolk Superior Court today to testify in a medical malpractice lawsuit brought by the team's former offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis.

By Yvonne Abraham and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Tom Brady testified today in Suffolk Superior Court for the coach he called his mentor, recounting a bedside vigil the Patriots quarterback kept as Charlie Weis bled internally for 30 hours after gastric bypass surgery.

Weis groomed Brady when he was New England's offensive coordinator, helping the college standout rise from a backup behind Drew Bledsoe to an NFL star who led the Patriots to three Super Bowls. The current head coach at Notre Dame, Weis wrote in his autobiography that Brady "became like a son," who continued to seek advice from him long after he left New England.

On the stand today, Brady's admiration for his mentor was evident as he spoke about their unusually close coach-player relationship in Weis's medical malpractice trial.

"He always forced you to work hard and be accountable," said Brady, who looked at the jury as he answered questions.

The quarterback wore a dark pinstriped suit with a white pocket square on the stand and discussed how jarring it was to see Weis floating in and out of consciousness when he visited him at Massachusetts General Hospital in June 2002.

"I realized this was a very serious issue," said Brady, who stood at his bedside and comforted Weis's wife, Maura Weis.

He told the jury that Weis was never physically the same after the surgery. On the sidelines, Weis was constantly reaching down to massage his legs, where he says he suffered nerve damage from the complications after the procedure.

"I just remember him expressing the pain he was in," Brady said, looking at the jury. "Charlie was never one to complain. He toughs it out."

But the surgeons' lawyer, William J. Dailey Jr., has said in court that Weis had been told about the dangers of a gastric bypass, including the risk of internal bleeding. The doctors did their best and saved his life when complications arose, Dailey said.

Under cross examination, Brady acknowledged that although Weis was often pained by the nerve damage in his legs, his personality did not change after the surgery.

Weis testified on Tuesday that he decided to have the surgery because he did not want to die of a heart attack, as his father did at age 56. He said the nerve damage in his feet has stopped him from walking with his wife, playing with his children, or running on the football field with his team at the start of a game.

From his time in intensive care after the surgery, Weis said he has only two memories. He can recall a Catholic priest standing over him to administer last rites because he was so close to death, and he remembers the steady presence of Brady.

After recovery, Weis authored a book titled "No Excuses: One Man's Incredible Rise Through the NFL to Head Coach of Notre Dame," in which he wrote that he would be forever indebted to Brady for the time he spent at his bedside.

"You'll never, ever hear me say a bad thing about Tommy Brady as a person for as long as I live," Weis wrote.

On the stand today, Brady said similar words about Weis, who he once described as the "personality" behind the Patriots successful offense.

The quarterback was also able to inject a moment of levity in what has been a very clinical trial. Brady joked about always rooting for Weis and his Fighting Irish at Notre Dame -- except when the team plays Michigan, Brady’s alma mater. The jurors all laughed.

Posted by aryan at 9:50 AM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2007

After the snowfall comes the slippery slopes

By Brian R. Ballou and April Simpson, Globe Staff

It may have been snow or sleet when it came out of the sky, but by Thursday morning it was ice, a gleaming, rock-hard casing on sidewalks and walkways that made shoveling a joke and walking a treacherous adventure worthy of Edmund Hillary.

Across the city, crowds of work-bound pedestrians negotiated ice and ridges of frozen slush as though they were on polar expeditions instead of city sidewalks. They reeled and slipped and kicked at the ice for tentative footing. Many didn’t always achieve it.

"I almost wiped out a couple of times already," said 26-year-old Jaeger Agraz, making her way up a Beacon Hill street after disastrously trying to walk on the encrusted sidewalk. "The streets are the way to go."

City code enforcement police Thursday cited several businesses for failing to clear their sidewalks. Friday, 18 code enforcement police officers are to canvass the city, targeting residents who haven’t cleared their walks.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:52 PM | Comments (0)

Mrs. Romney raises her profile

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

As Mitt Romney runs for president, his wife Ann has been his constant but mostly silent partner.

But this week, Ann Romney delved into some of the most private and charged issues facing her husband’s campaign.

In an extensive and frank interview with ABC News, she described her battle with multiple sclerosis, saying her husband will forge ahead with his pursuit of the presidency, even if her health declines. She also said she wants him to give a speech directly addressing his relationship to the Mormon Church and disclosed that she did not want him to run for governor in 2002, when the couple was on a high after the successful Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

"It was just this euphoric feeling, and I did not want to step immediately into something that is so negative, with the campaign, after that," Ann Romney told Kate Snow during an interview that aired Wednesday on "Good Morning America."

She also said she was troubled by the prevalence of misperceptions about Mormons.

"There’s a lot that needs to be done to educate people about it and to have an understanding that basically we share the same values as probably most faiths."

The former Ann Davies met Mitt Romney at a party in 1965, when he was 18 and she was 15. Married in 1969, they have five sons and 10 grandchildren. On the campaign trail, he calls her "my sweetheart," and she is often by his side, as she was when he formally announced his bid for the White House in Michigan this week.

Ann Romney, 57, told Snow how her conversion to Mormonism grew out of questions she began asking Mitt Romney when they were dating.

She said she wants her husband to give a speech about Mormonism like the one John F. Kennedy gave about the Roman Catholic Church in 1960. A recent Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll indicated that 35 percent of Americans say they would not vote for a Mormon for president.

"We’ll see whether his staff and whether my husband comes to that same conclusion, and I’m actually anxious for that to happen," she said.

"Certainly, if people look at our heart and soul, they will understand that we’re in this race to make a difference and to help and that we share the values of most Americans."

Discussing multiple sclerosis, which she was diagnosed with in 1998, Ann Romney said she shares her husband’s opposition to embryonic stem cell research, even though some scientists believe it could lead to a cure for multiple sclerosis.

"Is my life more important than a child’s, another child’s life, and I see it as a life that they would be experimenting on."

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.

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

U-Turn back on track

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

A U-turn ramp at the Massachusetts Turnpike’s Allston-Brighton tolls, a $1.3 million project intended to speed trips from Back Bay hotels to the new convention center in South Boston, ground to a halt after the fatal Big Dig ceiling collapse and soil problems were discovered at the construction site.

The project, which was supposed to have been completed in November, is not dead, said a Massachusetts Turnpike Authority spokesman.

James E. Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, one of the ramp’s chief supporters, said the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center would get a huge boost from the ramp and that he has told prospective clients it would be built.

"After the tunnel ceiling collapse, the project was postponed just because there were so many traffic detours going on and the city and the turnpike did not want to add another one," he said. "I anticipated it would pick up again once the tunnel system and ramps were back in order."

The long-sought U-turn would allow vehicles to loop from the Allston interchange to the eastbound onramp. Vehicles headed to the Back Bay could then use the eastbound exit at Prudential Center-Copley Square.

Going from Back Bay to Logan, a vehicle could use one of four westbound onramps in the Back Bay, drive 2 miles, and then make the U-turn to head eastbound.

Jon Carlisle, spokesman for the Turnpike Authority, said the ramp’s design has gone through three revisions after the soil under the proposed site was found to be moisture-absorbing and unstable peat. In the latest design, stone columns will be placed to distribute the weight of the ramp. It is expected to increase the project’s cost by $250,000, Carlisle said.

"The biggest impediment was the geotechnical issues we’ve had to deal with," he said. "But I think it’s fair to say that following the ceiling collapse, there was an all-hands-on-deck mentality."

Construction is expected to begin this spring and be completed in about six months, he said.

Meanwhile, all 1,825 Boston taxicab owners have signed up for Fast Lane electronic toll transponders, a major factor in the success of the ramp, which is designed to accommodate only an electronic tollbooth, said Lieutenant Robert Ciccolo, commander of the Boston Police Department’s hackney unit.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:30 PM | Comments (0)

Harris comes home a heroine

By Steven Rosenberg, GLOBE STAFF

SWAMPSCOTT - Blue lights from the police cruisers flashed as the 14-car procession, which included a black hearse, turned slowly onto Elwin Street. Marine Captain Jennifer J. Harris had been scheduled to return from her third tour of Iraq on Wednesday. Her homecoming was a day later and infinitely sadder than planned.

Harris, 28, was killed Feb. 7 along with six other service members after insurgents shot down the helicopter she was piloting in Anbar Province, Iraq. She was the first servicewoman from Massachusetts to die in combat in the Iraq war.

The procession, which started at Hanscom Field in Bedford, stopped in front of the modest green Cape Cod style home where Harris’s parents live. Several neighbors, their faces etched with mourning, looked on in the frigid weather. Some held American flags, others offered salutes.

Then, Raymond Harris walked from a nearby limousine that was part of the procession to the back of the hearse. Once there, he opened the door and stood silently, looking at his daughter’s flag-covered casket. A minute later, he gently closed the door and returned to the limo and the procession departed.

The Marine captain’s neighbors were still trying to sort out their feelings.

"This is so sad, it’s unbelievable," said Jimmy Connors, who played sports with Harris as a child. "I remember her parents used to pick her up at the airport when she’d come home; and now she’s coming home this way."

Connors had spent the morning buying as many small American flags as he could. An hour before Harris made her final trip down Elwin Street. Connors and other neighbors placed the flags in snow banks throughout the neighborhood.

A neighbor, Julie Faulkner, stood with her children, Mackenzie, 9, and Liam, 7. Faulkner pulled her children from school early so they could honor Harris when she returned. The three clutched American flags.

Faulkner said she would tell her children that Harris did a great job for the country. "I’ll remember her with great dignity, pride, and love of her country, and love of her family," she said.

Andrew Roland, who lives two doors away, went to school with Harris, and also served in the Marines. He called his friend, a National Honor Society member who was ranked fifth in her 1996 Swampscott High School graduating class, brilliant. "As an officer, she could basically write her own ticket, and she volunteered to go over there. She was very brave," Roland said of the Naval Academy graduate.

Throughout the day, neighbors slowed to a crawl in front of the Harris home, located less than a quarter mile from the childhood home of former US Army specialist Jared J. Raymond, 20, who was killed Iraq in September after a bomb blew up near his tank.

"It’s pretty devastating," said Mimi Riccio, who slowed her car near the Harris house. "It’s the second one in town and you think, 'God, how many more will happen?'"

Inside the car, her husband, Ed Riccio, shook his head and said the neighborhood was devastated. "There’s a price for freedom, and she helped us pay the price," he said.

At the high school, band director Ed Jack stared at three photographs of his former student, who played the flute flout and also served as drum major during football season. "She’s someone who showed the best for this town, this high school, and this country, and in my mind, she’s a hero," he said.

Funeral services for Harris will be held Monday, Feb. 19 at 11 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church on Humphrey Street. Harris will be buried in Swampscott Cemetery.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 7:46 PM | Comments (0)

Maynard superintendent keeps his job

By Melissa Beecher, Globe correspondent

MAYNARD -- The Maynard School Committee voted 3-2 this evening to retain Superintendent Mark Masterson, who was under fire for how he handled child molestation allegations 16 months before child rape charges were filed against former teacher Joseph Magno.

Masterson was placed on administrative leave because, he said, he failed to tell School Committee members promptly and accurately about a 2004 telephone conversation in which a former high school student said he knew about a teacher abusing a student.

The student who made the call claimed that he mentioned Magno, but Masterson said that Magno was never named. It was not until last year, when Magno was charged in a different sexual abuse case, that the superintendent informed school officials about the phone call.

Magno, 66, was scheduled to go on trial last month on 18 counts of child rape and indecent assault and battery, but he died of a heart attack on the eve of the trial.

Posted by srhee at 7:14 PM | Comments (0)

Mashpee Wampanoag win federal recognition

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe won federal recognition today as a sovereign Native American nation, capping a 32-year legal battle that will likely intensify efforts to bring casino gambling to Massachusetts.

Tribal Council Chairman Glenn Marshall answered the phone at 5:10 p.m. and put the call from the Bureau of Indian Affairs on speaker so two dozen tribal elders could hear the news, said tribe spokesman Scott Ferson. Outside tribal headquarters on Cape Cod, another 500 people waited in a tent ready to celebrate.

"It was something that was thoroughly expected," Ferson said in a telephone interview, "but then in the moment, it carried great suspense."

The federal government acknowledged that the Mashpees had existed as a distinct community since the 1620s. Their ancestors befriended the Pilgrims 400 years ago and, according to tradition, participated in the first Thanksgiving in 1621.

The recognition of 1,453 tribal members makes them eligible for millions in federal benefits and could eventually open the door to a casino in Massachusetts.

The tribe has it already made it clear it would like to build a gaming center south of Boston, an expansion of gambling that would have to be approved by state lawmakers. Federal recognition increases pressure on Governor Deval Patrick, who has appointed a study group to give him recommendations on gambling in about six months.

Patrick telephoned the tribal council to extend his congratulations moments after Marshall received the news, Ferson said. The governor and the tribal council chairman agreed to continue talking as the Mashpees began taking land into trust, said Ferson. They did not discuss casinos or gambling, he said.

"For a tribe that greeted the Pilgrims when they landed on the shores of Massachusetts, this recognition is long overdue," Patrick said in a statement. "I look forward to working with the tribe to move Massachusetts forward."

Posted by aryan at 6:47 PM | Comments (0)

Woman stabbed in Wareham during storm

By Globe Staff

A woman cleaning her windshield during the storm Wednesday night was stabbed at least six times and robbed on Route 6 in Wareham, police said.

A Wareham police spokesman said today that the woman, who was not identified, is expected to survive. Police have not arrested any suspects.

The women had pulled into a parking lot at about 8:30 p.m. after her windshield wipers malfunctioned. Police said a man came behind her and tried to grab her pocketbook. When she resisted, the man stabbed her repeatedly in the arm and leg, police said. The man then ran off with her purse.

Workers at nearby stores heard the woman scream and called police. She was treated at a local hospital and transferred to Boston Medical Center, police said.

Posted by aryan at 2:42 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick aims to increase taxing power of cities and towns

By Globe Staff

The Patrick administration announced a plan today that would give cities and towns the right to impose taxes on meals, hotels, motels, and telecommunications companies, and create a commission to study other ways to help local governments raise revenues.

Governor Deval Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray outlined the initiative today at Watertown Town Hall as they described legislation that they said would help lower property taxes and allow cities and towns to participate in the state's health insurance program.

"This administration is fully committed to an active, working partnership with every city and town in this Commonwealth," said Patrick in a statement. "When they are strong, the Commonwealth is strong."

The legislation would allow local governments to tack on an additional 2 percent on top of the state's existing 5 percent meals tax and also impose local taxes on hotel and motels. Twenty-five percent of this revenue would be used to lower property taxes of senior citizens, according to the administration.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in January that the proposal to repeal the property tax exemptions of telecommunications companies would allow the city to deliver an average of $200 in property tax relief to homeowners each year.

Patrick also took aim at cities and towns' underperforming pension funds, which would be subject to take over by the state retirement board.

Posted by aryan at 1:18 PM | Comments (0)

Woman found guilty in slaying of mother, son

By Globe Staff

A jury convicted a 23-year-old woman today in Suffolk Superior Court of helping her boyfriend murder his former lover and their 2-year-old son and wrapping their bodies in trash bags in May 2004.

Jessica Deane, 23, of Brockton, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the beating and suffocation deaths of Kayla Ravenell, 21, and her son, Xavier Ravenell.

Deane's boyfriend, Jims Beneche, 23, of East Boston, is being tried separately in Suffolk Superior Court.

Prosecutors alleged at trial that Deane helped Beneche murder Ravenell and her son on May 23, 2004.

Kayla Ravenell's body was found dumped in Braintree's Great Pond. Prosecutors allege that Beneche threw Xavier’s body out of his bedroom window as police entered his apartment.

Posted by aryan at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)

6-year-old killed in N.H. crash; Kingston bus accident injures 8 students

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A host of spinouts and other accidents caused problems today across the region in the wake of the season's first major storm, with a 6-year-old boy killed this morning on an icy interstate in New Hampshire and eight students suffering minor injuries in a school bus crash in Kingston.

Most of the traffic problems were in southern New Hampshire on Interstate 93, where Brendan Mahoney of Derry died when the car he was riding in hit a jackknifed tractor-trailer at about 7 a.m., according to a release from New Hampshire State Police. Brendan was rushed to Parkland Medical Center in Derry and pronounced dead.

The driver of the car, Kimberly Kyle, 26, of Derry, was taken to Elliot Hospital in Manchester with serious injuries but is expected to survive, police said. The truck driver, Francis Hammond, 41, of St. Fabien, Quebec, was not injured.

The crash, which completely closed the interstate in Londonderry for 30 minutes, remains under investigation, police said.

Earlier in the morning, a stretch of I-93 just north of the Massachusetts border was closed for several hours in both directions when two tractor-trailers jackknifed and dozens of cars skidded off the road. There were no serious injuries, police said.

The first truck jackknifed at about 5 a.m. in the Windham-Derry area. Northbound traffic began moving at about 7 a.m., but the southbound lanes heading toward Boston remained closed for several more hours.

In Kingston, Mass., eight children and two adults suffered minor injuries when a 1999 Jeep Cherokee hit a school bus on Pembroke Street at about 7 a.m., according to Kingston police.

All eight students who suffered injuries were able to walk to ambulances, said a dispatcher for the Kingston Fire Department. The injured, which included the drivers of the bus and the SUV, were taken to Jordan Hospital.

Across most of Massachusetts, State Police did not receive reports of any serious accidents during the morning rush, according to Sergeant Robert Bousquet.

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.

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

February 14, 2007

Cost of college continues to climb

By James Vaznis, GLOBE STAFF

The price tag for one school year at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst could rise to $17,399 next fall, a 32 percent increase from four years ago.

The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees is expected to approve the increase -- which includes tuition, fees, and room and board -- at its quarterly meeting next month. Wednesday, the board’s finance committee endorsed increases for all five campuses.

The UMass-Amherst increases are raising concerns about whether a public education is becoming too costly for many Bay State high school graduates. Student leaders at Amherst say the cost is forcing students to work two or three jobs, take out loans with high interest rates, or put more college costs, such as textbooks, on their credit cards.

"Students are being forced to go thousands of dollars into debt," said Mishy Leiblum, a student trustee from Amherst.

Robert Connolly, the university system’s spokesman, said UMass has tried keeping increases to a minimum. Tuition dollars go directly to the state while fees are retained on campuses. President Jack Wilson, he said, has been encouraging trustees to keep tuition and fee increases -- excluding room and board -- at or below the cost of living increase since taking office in September 2003.

Next school year’s tuition and fees at Amherst will be $9,921, a 3.4 percent, or $326 increase. The cost of living increase, he said, is 3.6 percent.

"The president and the board are committed to affordability to the fullest extent possible," Connolly said. "We are still able to offer affordable excellence."

The system has control over only the fees because tuition is set by the state board of higher education, which has not raised the rates in at least five years. Tuition ranges from a high of $1,714 at Amherst and Boston, and a low of $1,417 at Dartmouth.

UMass officials say students at UMass Amherst are getting a better deal than their peers at other public flagship campuses in New England. For in-state students, next year’s price tag at the University of New Hampshire could hit $18,500, a 26 percent increase from five years ago; at the University of Rhode Island, $17,691, a 30 percent increase; and the University of Connecticut, $17,500, a 28 percent increase, according to data collected by UMass.

Amherst students last fall overwhelming passed a referendum asking trustees to freeze tuition and fees and devote more money to financial aid.

"For me, I’m paying for school all in loans," said sophomore Vanessa Snow, 19, of Boston, who says she has taken out $28,000 in loans and expects she will need to borrow another $20,000 to finish her education.

Snow said she plans to move off campus next year to save money. Room and board on campus costs $7,478 or about $830 a month for the nine-month period students attend classes.

UMass officials say the increases are largely the consequence of a reduction in state aid.

Stephen Tocco, chairman of the UMass Board of Trustees, said he doubts the system will receive a windfall next year because of a state revenue shortfall.

"It’s a daunting picture," said Tocco, who has been pushing for more state aid for universities. "The environment has changed significantly over the last eight or 10 months. ... We need to regroup as an institution and not expect a sea of new money."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:42 PM | Comments (0)

State to examine tourism spending

By Andrea Estes, GLOBE STAFF

The state inspector general’s office is launching an investigation of tourism spending in Massachusetts at the request of Senator Therese Murray, the powerful leader of the Ways and Means Committee, who has been swept up in a controversy about an independent tourism agency recently stripped of its funding by Governor Deval Patrick.

After receiving a letter from Murray on Tuesday, Jack McCarthy, the senior assistant inspector general, confirmed the office would be reviewing the use of $6 million in state funding over the last two years by the Massachusetts International Marketing Partnership Inc.

Murray, who is widely viewed as the probable successor to Senate President Robert Travaglini, hopes to defuse charges that she directed millions of dollars in state funds to the nonprofit partnership, commonly known as Tourism Massachusetts.

The agency is run by William MacDougall, a former official with the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, the state’s official tourism arm. Governor Paul Cellucci asked MacDougall to resign by in 2001, shortly after being forced to reimburse the state for unsubstantiated travel expenses.

Wednesday, state lawmakers followed Patrick’s lead and agreed to pull $5 million that had been pledged to Tourism Massachusetts and transfer it to the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.

Murray said Wednesday that Tourism Massachusetts was awarded a contract after a protracted bidding and review process and has done "a terrific job" generating international tourism for the state.

"I’d like to have the inspector general review expenses," she said. "I’m hoping he can give [the public] a level of comfort and the legislators a level of comfort. This was a legitimate operation that played by the rules."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:35 PM | Comments (0)

Tribe expects recognition

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is expected to win recognition Thursday as a sovereign Native American nation, a historic designation that is likely to build momentum for efforts to bring casino gambling to Massachusetts.

The Mashpees, slaughtered and forcibly resettled by colonists, would be the second tribe recognized in Massachusetts and the first by the Bush administration, entitling the tribe to millions in federal funding for healthcare and social services. The recognition also increases pressure on Governor Deval Patrick to take a stand on gambling.

On the eve of the announcement, the Mashpee tribe said they expect to win recognition and have arranged for a celebration. Tribal officials said they will seek to persuade Patrick to authorize a casino.

Patrick has said he will not make a decision for at least six months, awaiting recommendations from an internal study group he recently named. State lawmakers would have to approve any gambling expansion, and they are expected again to debate the issue this year on Beacon Hill, where slot machine bills have failed several sessions running.

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

Boston teachers strike on hold

By Tracy Jan and Matt Viser, Globe Staff

A Boston teachers strike is off -- at least for now.

The city's teachers took a hand vote this afternoon to delay a potential strike for two weeks to allow negotiators more time after progress was made in contract talks. The teachers had been scheduled to vote today on a day-long strike set for Thursday.

Superintendent Michael G. Contompasis said in a statement issued after the vote that all schools will be in session on Thursday.

"For the sake of Boston's children and families, I am relieved that the union has chosen not to engage in an illegal strike tomorrow," Contompasis said. "The place for these negotiations to take place is at the bargaining table, and that's exactly where we'll be until this is resolved.”

Richard Stutman, the Boston Teachers Union president, said he asked his membership to allow more time to negotiate after the school system took the thorny class-size issue off the table. School officials rescinded a proposal to raise the limit of students in a class by two, Stutman said.

The 8,000-member Boston Teachers Union includes working and retired teachers, nurses, librarians, school psychologists, and teachers' aides.

The union and school officials remain divided on issues of salary, health insurance, and how to improve underperforming schools. School officials have offered a 10 percent raise in base salaries over four years; the union has asked for a nearly 22 percent raise.

Strikes by public employees are illegal in Massachusetts. The Suffolk Superior Court ruled Tuesday that it is illegal for teachers to even vote on whether to strike, upholding an earlier decision by the state Labor Relations Commission.

Thomas F. Birmingham, a former state Senate president and a veteran labor lawyer, was brought in today to help broker a deal. Birmingham, who co-authored the state education reform act, is respected among labor circles and has been tapped by Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino in the past to mediate union negotiations.

Birmingham, who declined to discuss specifics of the talks, said he was brought in after being contacted by Menino, Contompasis, and Stutman.

"I have good relations with both sides, so I'm able to use that to help out both sides," Birmingham said in an interview.

Menino turned to Birmingham in 2004, the last time the teachers threatened to strike, and he helped avert a strike six days before it was scheduled to take place. At the time, Birmingham served as an unpaid intermediary because he said the stakes were high with the Democratic National Convention coming to Boston.

Birmingham also mediated pilot school negotiations with the Boston Teachers Union and the school system last year.

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

Deep freeze coming after rain

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

Even walking was difficult today in Boston. These pedestrians battled the snow, wind, and rain on St. James Avenue in Copley Square.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Regular old snow would have been much, much better.

The wintry mix of rain, sleet, and slush from Wednesday's storm, combined with a steady afternoon downpour inside the Route 128 loop around Boston, turned the morning snow into afternoon puddles and made life difficult for evening commuters.

The National Weather Service has received reports of street flooding in Braintree and Cumberland, R.I. State Police shut down Route 128 in both directions near Gloucester because of water in the roadway.

Temperatures were expected to dip into the teens in the city and flirt with single digits further inland. WBZ radio reported cold blasts of arctic air caused ice to collect on commuters' cars and made road conditions slippery and dangerous.

"It's going to get really, really nasty," said Eleanor Vallier-Talbot, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

Most interstates and other main thoroughfares should remain ice-free until late Wednesday evening, but other less-traveled side roads may freeze over and cause problems, said Vallier-Talbot.

In Malden, a pipe broke and sent water gushing over the southbound Orange Line tracks near Oak Grove. T officials worked to keep one track open to the station, but some riders were being bused. (More MBTA updates.)

Logan International Airport was closed for an hour and 20 minutes this afternoon because of poor visibility and snow building up on runways. By early afternoon, 136 of the airport's 1,100 daily flights had been canceled because of poor weather in Boston and at other airports nationwide, airport spokesman Richard Walsh told the Associated Press.

This afternoon, temperatures climbed to 36 degrees in Boston, where less than 2 inches of snow fell this morning at Logan International Airport. Further inland the air remained colder. A little west of the Route 128 loop, temperatures stayed below freezing and snow continued to fall most of the day.

In Wakefield, 3.3 inches of snow fell, according to unofficial afternoon totals from the National Weather Service. Pepperell saw 5.5 inches of snow. In Walpole, N.H., weather spotters measured a foot of snow.

Massachusetts State Police will have 45 additional troopers patrolling roads across the state tonight, said Trooper Kara England. This morning a slew of one-vehicle spinouts tied up roads. The most serious accident was a three-vehicle smash-up on northbound Interstate 95 in Norwood that closed the road for several hours. No one was seriously injured, England said.

A Fung Wah bus carrying 35 passengers crashed into a guardrail at the Allston-Brighton on the westbound Massachusetts Turnpike. The road also had to be closed as the bus was towed from the scene. No one was injured, according to the State Police.

"It's settled down a little from this morning, but there are still more accidents than on a dry day," England said.

State Police reminded motorists to wear seat belts, drive cautiously, and allow extra travel time.

Posted by aryan at 4:05 PM | Comments (0)

Baseball and sunshine

(Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

A long way from today's rain-sleet-snow storm in Boston, Red Sox pitchers loosened up at spring training in Fort Myers, Fla.

Posted by aryan at 2:48 PM | Comments (0)

No one hurt as Fung Wah bus crashes on Pike

(Essdras M. Suarez/Globe Staff)

The Fung Wah bus line has come under intense scrutiny from federal and state officials for a series of safety and other violations.

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

A Fung Wah bus carrying 35 passengers crashed into a guardrail at the Allston-Brighton tolls today on the westbound Massachusetts Turnpike. Though the bus had to be towed from the scene, no one was injured.

State Police Lieutenant Eric Anderson said the accident remained under investigation. He could not say if weather was a factor in the crash.

The passengers left the bus after the accident and were taken by another Fung Wah bus to Newton Corner, where they retrieved their luggage before proceeding to Boston, he said.

The bus line, which has come under intense scrutiny from federal and state officials for a series of safety and other violations, offers $15 one-way trips between Boston and New York, a route popular with college students and bargain hunters that started eight years ago.

In January, a set of rear wheels loosened on a Boston-bound Fung Wah bus and barely stayed on the coach after it had traveled nearly 200 miles at highway speeds on a trip from New York. No one was injured.

In September 2006, a Fung Wah coach rolled over while rounding an Interstate 290 ramp in Auburn, slightly injuring 34 passengers headed to Boston. State Police blamed excessive speed.

Last October, Fung Wah was fined $31,100 for violating federal safety regulations. The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration said Fung Wah improperly hired drivers who couldn't speak English and who regularly exceeded speed limits.

Posted by aryan at 1:45 PM | Comments (0)

Schools, teachers union continue negotiations as strike looms

By Tracy Jan and Matt Viser, Globe Staff

The Boston Teachers Union and school system officials resumed negotiations today in hopes of hammering out a contract before this afternoon's impending strike vote.

Both Superintendent Michael Contompasis and union president Richard Stutman expressed optimism during last night's public debate that the two sides could reach an agreement and avert what would be the first Boston teachers strike in 14 years. The two sides resumed negotiations at 8 a.m.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino told reporters today that he hopes the strike could be averted.

"We're making progress. I hope they'll delay the vote," Menino said. "It should be about education, and I think most teachers agree on that and they will support the idea of being in the classroom. It's unfortunate that education takes a back step during these times."

The 8,000-member Boston Teachers Union, which includes working and retired teachers, nurses, librarians, school psychologists, and teachers' aides, is scheduled to meet at union headquarters in Dorchester at 4 p.m. to vote on whether to strike on Thursday.

Strikes by public employees are illegal in Massachusetts. The Suffolk Superior Court ruled Tuesday that it is illegal for teachers to even vote on whether to strike, upholding an earlier decision by the state Labor Relations Commission.

Contompasis sent a letter to school system employees on Monday reminding them that they are required to report to work Thursday even if teachers vote to strike. With the exception of bus drivers and bus monitors, employees who do not work tomorrow could be docked pay, disciplined, and even fired.

Union and school officials remain divided on salary, health insurance, class size, and how to improve underperforming schools. School officials have offered a 10 percent raise in base salaries over four years; the union has asked for a nearly 22 percent raise.

Menino said today he is not personally involved in the negotiations, but he is on call and being briefed throughout the day on the progress of the negotiations.

"They're meeting all day today to try to come to an agreement on this contract," Menino said. "We want a fair contract for the teachers ... but we understand that the city only has so much revenues that they could expend on this contract."

If the teachers in the 57,000-student school system do strike, Menino said the city will be ready. Community centers and libraries throughout the city will extend their hours and have additional staff on hand to monitor the children. Vans will be at the schools to transport students unaware of the strike who show up at school. Additional police officers will also be on hand at the areas where teachers plan to protest.

"This is the most prepared we've ever been for something like this," Menino said.

Posted by aryan at 1:32 PM | Comments (0)

Mayor honors firefighter who saved three children from Roxbury blaze

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Boston firefighter Andrew Lee stood at attention with a stern look on his face today at City Hall as Mayor Thomas M. Menino proclaimed, "This young man is what America is all about."

Lee, 33, a former Marine who did three tours of duty in Iraq and has been a firefighter for three months, rescued three children from a fire in a Roxbury apartment on Saturday.

Menino, who was joined by Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser, read a proclamation designating today "Andrew Lee Day" as the firefighter's young children played in the back of the mayor's office.

"What he says to me is, 'I'm just doing my job,'" Menino said. "I just want to say thank you for what you’ve done for us."

"He's doing a hell of a good job," Menino said.

Lee downplayed his role in the rescue.

"All I have to say is, this is uh, uh, I'm receiving this honor on behalf of Fire Company 24 and Ladder Company 23, that's all," Lee said. "It has nothing to do with Andrew Lee. I was one of many people there that night."

Lee, who grew up and now lives in South Boston, was joined at the ceremony by his wife, Erin, and their 3-year-old daughter, Catherine, and 19-month-old son, Andrew.

"This young man is what America is all about," Menino said. "He answered the call."

Posted by aryan at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)

Boston's first major snowfall a rain-out

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Sleet stung commuters this morning outside South Station in Boston.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Snow gave way to sleet and then turned to rain today as Boston's first major winter storm of the season made a mucky mess of roads and sidewalks.

While the epicenter of the storm lumbered north, warmer air settled over Boston and pushed temperatures up past 34 degrees. A little more than an inch of snow fell at Logan International Airport, with higher accumulation totals further inland. Parts of Franklin and Hampshire counties saw more than five inches of snow.

Traffic watchers are weary about this evening's commute and are keeping a close eye on the weather. Forecasters predict that the warmer temperatures should wash away much of the snow and minimize ice on roads when people head home today after work.

"I would think that the evening commute would be little better than this morning’s commute," said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

This morning state police reported no major crashes despite a thick blanket of snow on most roads. By 7 a.m., 1.1 inches had fallen at Logan International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm forced the cancellation of some 90 out of 1,100 daily flights at Logan, said Richard Walsh, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport. Two runways were open this morning, Walsh said, and delays averaged 30 minutes.

Boston Public Schools canceled all after-class activities and evening programs today because of the weather. School will be dismissed at the regular time, but late buses will not be running.

The Coast Guard has warned boaters to stay in port with winds at sea expected to gust up to 50 mph and produce 20-foot waves. Peter Pan and Bonanza Bus Lines cancelled all service today north of New York City and throughout New England.

While the storm caused headaches for commuters and closed almost 300 schools, it could have been much worse, Foley said. Traffic was lighter than usual this morning because so many parents stayed home with their children when schools closed, said Cindy Campbell, the director of operations for SmartRoute Systems Inc., a traffic monitoring firm. Fewer cars on the road, however, did not stop the string of minor accidents.

"People kind of forget how to drive in the snow," Campbell said.
While traffic watchers are preparing for bad traffic this evening, the afternoon ride "is really going to depend on the weather," Campbell said.

As the storm passes to the north, it has brought warmer air over Boston and turned more of the precipitation into rain, Foley said.

"The whole thing means it's just going to be messy, messy," Foley said.

The snow and rain should stop falling late this evening, Foley said.

Forecasters predict that Thursday should be sunny and windy, with temperatures in the 20s.

Posted by aryan at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)

Former acting governor Swift to endorse McCain

By Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff

Former acting governor Jane Swift, who bowed out of contention for the 2002 governor's race when Mitt Romney launched a campaign, will endorse US Senator John McCain of Arizona today for president.

Swift is expected to serve as an education adviser for McCain, who is exploring a run for the GOP nomination for president. Romney, who is also a Republican, formally kicked off his presidential campaign on Tuesday.

Swift, who took office when former governor Paul Cellucci left to become ambassador to Canada, was stung in 2002 when Republican activists began rallying for a Romney candidacy for governor. At the time, Romney was returning to Massachusetts after successfully leading the Salt Lake Winter Olympics and was viewed as a stronger candidate who could retain the Republicans' hold on the corner office. Swift protested that "powerful men" were trying to nudge her aside.

To the surprise of Beacon Hill observers, she stepped aside willingly on the day Romney announced his candidacy for governor, saying "something had to give." Swift, the mother of three young children, said she would not be able to wage an ambitious primary campaign while serving as governor and managing her family.

Swift spokesman Jason Kauppi said today that her endorsement of McCain had nothing to do with the past.

"It's really more about her feelings about Senator McCain -- that he's the person to lead the country," Kauppi said. "It's not really a statement about Mitt Romney as it is an endorsement of Senator McCain."

Posted by aryan at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)

Suspect in Fall River slaying in custody in N.Y.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

An 18-year-old Boston man charged with shooting a 15-year-old to death in Fall River last month has been taken into custody in Syracuse, N.Y., authorities said today.

Kyron Gorham, 18, allegedly shot and killed Shakeem T. Davis inside an apartment belonging to Davis' girlfriend, according to Fall River District Court records.

Gorham, who is also known as "40 cal," is the second person charged with the death of the popular sophomore at the Durfee Alternative High School in Fall River. Jason S. Bates, 27, of Fall River, has pleaded not guilty to charges of being an accessory after the fact to murder and is being held on $200,000 cash bail.

In police reports filed in connection with Bates' arrest, officers said that Davis had picked up his girlfriend from a house party on Hall Street because she was having "problems with some of the other girls that were at the house."

On the way home, Davis argued with someone on his cellphone, the girlfriend told police after the killing. At the apartment, someone knocked on the back door and Davis let a man in who was identified in court records as Bates. A second man -- who officers allege was Gorham -- came in through the open door, argued with Davis, and shot him with a .22 caliber handgun, police said.

According to a clerk at Syracuse City Court, Gorham is expected to be arraigned today as a fugitive from justice. However, heavy snow is falling today in New York State and may delay court proceedings.

Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter Jr. has scheduled a press conference today to discuss Gorham's arrest. Sutter plans to bring him to Massachusetts and charge him with first-degree murder. If convicted, Gorham faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

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

Manhole fires send smoke into Parker House

By Globe Staff

Two manhole fires in downtown Boston this morning sent smoke into the Omni Parker House hotel, a fire official said.

There were manholes fires on both Tremont Street and School Street, which form a corner at the hotel, said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steven McDonald.

The hotel was not evacuated, McDonald said. The cause of the manhole fires is under investigation and may be weather-related, McDonald said.

Posted by aryan at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)

February 13, 2007

Even with snow, Valentine's a go

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

Neither snow nor sleet will keep the armies of love from their appointed rounds.

With the first Valentine’s Day snowstorm in the Boston area in years forecast for Wednesday, florists, restaurants, and other enablers of romance prepared Tuesday for the wintry blast with a mix of trepidation and hard-headed contingency planning.

"If you’re a real florist, you figure out how to make it work," said Carol Raynor, manager of Greens & Things florist in Keene, N.H., which could get up to 19 inches of snow. "We’ve got a four-wheel-drive Hummer ready."

Many florists delivered Valentine’s bouquets Tuesday, after calling customers to let them know the snow might hamper delivery Wednesday. Some restaurants reported numerous worried callers and an unusual number of cancellations.

The National Weather Service predicted 1 to 3 inches of snow overnight for Boston, followed Wednesday by 3 inches of snow or sleet. Wind gusts could reach 40 miles per hour, sending the wind chill below zero. In short, a winter mess.

"This is the only snow of the winter, and it happens on the worst day for us," said Ted Winston, president of Winston Flowers, which rings up about 8 percent of its annual sales on Valentine’s Day.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)

Local Catholics align with others to keep churches open

By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff

Dissident Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston have joined parishioners in New York in the struggle to keep open some of the 21 churches slated to be closed there and are working with groups in Ohio and Arizona to encourage resistance to parish closings nationwide.

The Council of Parishes and Voice of the Faithful, two Boston-based organizations critical of the Catholic hierarchy, are providing information and advice to some of the parishes scheduled to close by March 1 in the Archdiocese of New York.

Peter Borre, cochairman of the Council of Parishes, is credited by New York parishioners with helping them prepare to resist the closings, based on the Boston-area protests. how many in Boston have done it??

"We called Peter to help us in this because he has experience," said Carmen M. Villegas, one of six women arrested Monday night at Our Lady Queen of the Angels in East Harlem, where police and private security guards terminated attempts by about 40 parishioners to start a Boston-style occupation.

"Peter is helping us get organized; he is instrumental," said Villegas, who added, in a phone interview, that one of the police officers who helped break up the vigil told parishioners "the diocese is furious at us that we brought that man in."

Though the vigil was broken up, the parishioners scored what they consider a public relations coup, as New York television stations broadcast black-clad private security personnel pushing poor Hispanic parishioners and journalists out of the church.

A vigil at another New York church, Our Lady of the Rosary in Yonkers, was broken up Sunday. Two people were arrested there.

John Moynihan, spokesman for Voice of the Faithful, said his organization has been heavily involved in organizing New York parishes, since a long list of proposed closings was announced there last spring.

He said that Voice of the Faithful worked particularly closely with the two churches where parishioners launched vigils and were thwarted last weekend, helping them make practical preparations for what were expected to be long occupations.

Borre said the Council of Parishes, Voice of the Faithful, and several organizations that seek to reform the Catholic Church from within are discussing how they can cooperate to help local parishes resist closure orders from the church hierarchy.

Some of them plan to hold a public event outside the now-closed Our Lady Queen of Angels on Feb. 25.

Before the protest and arrests, that was the original date of the last Mass to be celebrated in the East Harlem church.

The event is expected to feature statements of solidarity from other parishes throughout the country, a speech by Villegas, the leader of the closed church, and prayer.

If a priest can be found to officiate, a Mass will be held in the street outside the closed church, Borre said.

Sister Christine Schenk, executive director of the Ohio-based organization FutureChurch -- which advocates preservation of parishes, ordination of women priests, and voluntary celibacy for male priests -- said Tuesday that she was in discussions with Borre but that the organization "almost certainly" would back the effort.

Robert Kaiser, founder of the Phoenix-based organization www.takebackourchurch.org, said his group would not participate in the New York event. He said but that he agrees with Borre and the other groups demanding that Catholic parishioners be empowered and that the powers of the clergy be curbed.

Charles A. Radin can be reached at radin@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)

Trial begins in shooting of pregnant woman, slaying of unborn child

By Megan Tench, Globe Staff

Opening statements had not even begun before Hawa Barry began wiping away tears.

Two men sat in front of her, accused of shooting Barry, then 30, in the stomach with a military-style semiautomatic handgun on a crowded Orange Line train. She was 8 months pregnant.

The bullet killed her unborn baby boy.

The defendants, Chimezie Akara, 23, and Andre Green, 22, each accuse the other of pulling the trigger that cold night in February.

But prosecutor David Meier told jurors Tuesday that the two men acted together. Both are charged with murder, armed assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition.

"Each of the two defendants [is] guilty," said Meier. "If you follow the facts ... it will not matter to you who pulled the trigger. When all is said and done, the two men responsible for shooting Hawa Barry, killing her unborn child, are the defendants Andre Green and Chimezie Akara."

Doctors at Boston Medical Center delivered the baby by caesarean section.

"It was a baby boy" who weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces, had a normal heart rate, and was breathing on his own, Meier said. "His name was baby boy Barry. ... Baby boy Barry was alive for 45 minutes." But a hollow-point bullet that had ripped through his back, tearing apart his liver, kidney, and ribs, killed him.

Barry, who had recently emigrated from Guinea to be with her husband in Lynn, could barely understand the passengers as they screamed that the men had a gun, Meier said.

Surveillance video will show the two men fleeing the rear of the train, where they opened fire, one bullet striking the guitar of a Berklee College of Music student and another hitting Barry, Meier told the courtroom.

Meier told jurors friends and relatives of the two men will testify that the two admitted their involvement in the shooting.

Akara repeatedly denied to police that he was anywhere near the station at the time of the shooting. Robert Sheketoff, his lawyer, said his client may not have been honest with police about being at the scene, but he is not guilty.

"Together they fired a handgun?" Sheketoff asked the jury in bewilderment.

"It doesn’t take two people to fire a handgun," he said. "There is no together in this case."

Sheketoff contends that the shooter was Green and said Barry told police that.

When police showed her an array of photos, Sheketoff said, "Instantaneously, she pointed to the shooter. She told them she sees the man in her dreams."

Green’s lawyer, Stephen Weymouth, also told jurors that his client was innocent, that Green did not know the intended victim but Akara did.

"One gun, one motive, one shooter," Weymouth said. "Chimezie Akara shot the gun and had the motive."

Judge Thomas Connolly instructed jurors that they could convict both defendants under the theory of joint venture if they believe both defendants were involved in the commission of the crime, one who committed the crime and another who aided and abetted the commission of the crime.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:58 PM | Comments (0)

Storm moving north, less snow expected in Boston

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The winter storm roaring toward Boston seems to be shifting north and may not dump as much snow in the city as forecasters first anticipated.

While northern New England may get walloped with up to 30 inches of snow in what could be the worst storm in several years, Boston's snow totals may be washed away by rain. Temperatures are expected to climb as high as the upper 30s by Wednesday afternoon.

Four to six inches of snow could still fall in Boston, a city that has seen less than two inches of snow all winter. That could complicate the commute Wednesday morning for motorists who haven't had much experience driving in winter weather this season.

"If we were talking normal winter, this would be old hat," said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino issued a statement today reminding residents not to park within 20 feet of an intersection so cars don't block the access of emergency vehicles. Menino also asked people to shovel out fire hydrants close to their homes and told residents that space savers used to reserve parking spots must be removed from the street 48 hours after the storm.

With colder temperatures predicted inland, areas in Massachusetts north and west of Worcester are expected to get eight to 14 inches of snow. On Cape Cod, however, the storm is predicted to produce only rain.

The Coast Guard has warned boaters to stay in port with winds at sea expected to gust up to 50 mph and produce 20 foot waves.

Peter Pan and Bonanza Bus Lines cancelled all service Wednesday north of New York City and throughout New England.

The storm's northward turn could be good news for some businesses in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

"It will make the ski areas very happy," Foley said.

Anthony Antonucci, a manager at the Mountain View Grand hotel in Whitefield, N.H., said he hoped a blanket of fresh snow would bring a surge of weekend visitors to ski and snowmobile.

"Without the snow and the cold weather, it's just been hard," Antonucci told the Associated Press. "Hopefully it will turn things around for our local stores and local economy."

Heavy snow and wind gusts of up to 35 mph could create blizzard conditions in parts of northern New England.

Sandy Balzanelli, who has driven a plow for 13 years for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, helps keep Interstate 89 clear from Stowe to Granville. "After all these little storms you look forward to being able to push some snow," Balzanelli said in an interview with the AP.

Posted by aryan at 6:11 PM | Comments (0)

Lawyer charged with keeping dead client's stolen artwork

By Stephen Kurkjian and Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

A retired Watertown lawyer who authorities say tried to sell millions of dollars worth of paintings allegedly stolen by a deceased client was arrested at Logan International Airport this afternoon when he arrived on a flight from Paris.

Robert M. Mardirosian, 72, was brought into US District Court on charges of possessing, concealing, storing, and attempting to sell stolen goods. The seven paintings, including a still life by Paul Cezanne, had been stolen from a private residence in the Berkshires in 1978.

"It is extremely disheartening that an attorney charged with upholding the law ... would disregard that duty for decades [and] conceal the whereabouts of priceless works of art for no other reason than greed," said US Attorney Michael Sullivan.

An affidavit from FBI Special Agent Geoffrey Kelly released today said that investigators had been given information about Mardirosian's possession of the paintings from Paul Palandjian of Belmont, under a grant of immunity.

Palandjian, a former principal in the Boston development firm Intercontinental Real Estate, told the FBI that Mardirosian, a close friend of his late father, had approached him in late 2003 and asked for help selling six of the paintings. The effort collapsed, however, in 2005 when Radcliffe filed suit in a London court to stop an auction of the paintings at Sotheby's.

Mardirosian acknowledged in a January 2006 interview with The Globe that the alleged thief who stole the paintings had left the artwork at his Watertown office. Mardirosian was representing the man in an unrelated matter.

"He was going to bring them to Florida to fence them, but I told him that if he ever got caught with them with the other case hanging over his head, he'd be in real trouble," Mardirosian said in the 2006 Globe interview. "So he left them upstairs in my attic in a big plastic bag."

The alleged thief, David Colvin, 31, of Pittsfield, died in 1979. It was not until then, Mardirosian said, that he realized Colvin had left a large plastic bag containing the paintings in the attic of Mardirosian's office.

Mardirosian said that sometime in 1988, he transported the paintings to Monaco. He secretly held onto the artwork because he did not know who owned the paintings and believed he might have a legitimate claim to them. Mardirosian later put the paintings in a Swiss bank for safe keeping.

He said he intended to return the paintings to their owner and claim a finder's fee, or 10 percent, according to an affidavit in the case.

Mardirosian was able to keep his possession of the paintings secret by working with lawyers in London, Monaco, and Switzerland, and by using a shell company he had set up in Panama named the Erie International Trading Co.

The whereabouts of the paintings remained unknown until 1999, when an attempt was made to insure the Cezanne for possible auction sale. The Art Loss Register, a London-based private firm that tracks stolen paintings, worked out a deal on behalf of their owner, Michael Bakwin, from whose Stockbridge home they had been stolen, to get the Cezanne back. The masterpiece was later auctioned off by Sotheby's in London for $29.6 million.

In 2005, Mardirosian, working behind Erie International Trading, tried to auction off several of the other paintings. However, Julian Radcliffe, president of the Art Loss Register, filed a suit in London that successfully stopped that auction and revealed Mardirosian as the owner of the company pushing the sale.

Mardirosian, who maintained an active criminal law practice in federal and Boston-area courts, retired as a lawyer in the mid-1980s and became a sculptor and painter. He opened a studio in France and traveled frequently between his home in Falmouth and France.

Posted by aryan at 5:03 PM | Comments (0)

Little Joe the gorilla eager to say hi after three years

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

Little Joe made his grand entrance at the refurbished gorilla exhibit today at the Franklin Park Zoo.

By Jenna Russell, Globe Staff

Little Joe, the gorilla made famous by his escape from the Franklin Park Zoo, wasn't shy about saying hello today when a group of visitors got the first public peek at the ape in more than three years.

Joe ran to the edge of his new $2.3 million steel-enforced gorilla habitat and threw his hairy chest against the triple-layer glass walls in a body slam that echoed with a thud. The noise gave a scare to some journalists and zoo donors on a tour of the new facility today in advance of its formal opening on Saturday.

Trainers assured the group that it was natural for gorillas to pound and bang the glass, especially for Little Joe, an ape that craves public attention.

In August 2003, Joe made his first brief escape over a wall and a 12-foot moat around the former gorilla enclosure at the zoo. Six weeks later, Little Joe climbed over the wall again, but this time he ran outside and attacked two girls, including a 2-year-old. It took two hours and an army of police to corral the gorilla, who had to be subdued with tranquilizer darts.

Since the second escape, Little Joe has been kept out of public view while officials built him and the other six gorillas a new home. The habitat unveiled today inside the zoo's Tropical Forest building includes a new mesh cap of woven steel cables over its top that is designed to stop the animals from climbing out.

The new exhibit gives the gorillas more room to play, with steel-reinforced "trees," ropes for swinging, and vertical space for climbing. The restoration was funded by private donors, state government, and leftover money from the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Today, the apes frolicked in the new space. Little Joe wrestled with Okpara, one of the zoo's other male gorillas, rolling over and over again on the ground.

Posted by aryan at 3:23 PM | Comments (0)

Report confirms some airport lights off during New Bedford crash

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed today that the approach lights at New Bedford Regional Airport were off but the runway lights were working when a private plane failed its first approach earlier this month and crashed seconds later, killing three on board.

A report issued by the NTSB also said the plane descended to 300 feet on approach and then made a climbing left turn to about 1,000 feet before radar contact was lost. The wreckage was located about a mile west of the airport.

The report provides few new details about the crash that killed Peter Karoly, 53, and his wife, Dr. Lauren Angstadt, 54, of Bethlehem, Pa., along with pilot Michael Milot, 23, of Germansville, Pa. Relatives have said the lack of the approach lights may have been a factor in the crash on Feb. 2. The NTSB report says a "Notice to Airmen" warning about the lack of lights was in effect at the time of the accident.

The Federal Aviation Administration restored some of the runway approach lights at the airport last week.

The approach lights had been turned off since August after becoming covered with overgrown brush. Earlier this month, the city of New Bedford asked the FAA to turn the lights back on after having obtained an emergency permit from the local conservation commission to clear the foliage around the runway, which sits on protected wetlands, officials said.

Posted by aryan at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

Four men arrested after standoff in Roxbury

By Brian R Ballou, Globe Staff

Boston police arrested four men today after a tense standoff that lasted several hours at a white triple decker in Roxbury.

Officers rushed to the scene at 9:15 a.m. after a report of gunfire. Police said four suspects barricaded themselves inside the house on Langdon Street.

Police used a bullhorn to try to coax the men outside. At least a dozen members of the department's entry team, dressed in black tactical uniforms, stood poised near the entry of the home.

The four men were eventually pulled out of the basement and arrested.

Police identified the men as Jovanni Barbosa, 20, of Roxbury; Jason Barbosa, 18, of Roxbury; Ilton Correia, 23, of Roxbury and Alexander Cardoso, 21, of Quincy. They were each charged with breaking and entering in a dwelling during the daytime.

The incident remains under investigation.

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

Lawyer: Weis bled for 30 hours after gastric bypass

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and wife, Maura, arrived today for opening arguments in his malpractice suit.

By Scott Allen, Globe Staff

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital allowed Charlie Weis, the former offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, to bleed internally for 30 hours after botched gastric bypass surgery in 2002, his lawyer said today during opening statements of a malpractice trial.

Attorney Michael E. Mone outlined his case today in Suffolk Superior Court in which he alleges that Weis' doctors -- Charles M. Ferguson and Richard A. Hodin -- left him so close to death that a Catholic priest was called in to administer the last rites. Weis still feels pain from the botched surgery, Mone alleged, describing nerve damage in his right foot that still hurts when he stands on the sidelines to coach at the University of Notre Dame.

"Mr. Weis was harmed by the negligence of Dr. Ferguson and Dr. Hodin," Mone told the jury. "He suffered injuries ... that he still suffers today and will suffer for the rest of his life."

Defense attorney William J. Dailey, Jr. said doctors did everything they could for Weis, asserting that nothing they did amounted to negligence or was below the standard of care.

Weis and his wife, Maura, sat expressionless today in the front row of the courtroom at the start of a trial that is expected to last several weeks and may include Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as a witness.

Weis underwent gastric bypass surgery on June 14, 2002, after years of trying unsuccessfully to get in shape. He weighed 350 pounds at the time of the operation, which seemed to have gone well when Ferguson left the hospital at 6 p.m. that night, Mone said.

By 2 a.m. the next day, however, Weis had taken a turn.

"He had a post operative hemorrhage," Mone said. "He had difficulty breathing. His blood values changed dramatically."

From 2 a.m. that Saturday, Weis "was essentially allowed to bleed and he was allowed to bleed until Sunday afternoon," said Mone, adding that Ferguson knew that he was suffering complications.

Dailey, the defense attorney, said that the two surgeons had explained to Weis that hemorrhaging was a known risk from a gastric bypass, a procedure in which 5 to 10 percent of patients suffer major complications after surgery.

Ferguson had urged Weis to delay the procedure until after the 2002 season, Dailey said. Weis, wanting to get it done before Patriots summer camp in 2002, pushed to go on the operating table that June, Dailey said.

While Dailey acknowledged that Weis suffered serious complications, the lawyer said both the surgeons and the doctors in the intensive care unit properly managed his bleeding and recovery. Doctors did not perform another surgery to stop the internal bleeding because they were worried about the risk of a blood clot in his lungs known as a pulmonary embolism. Such a clot could have made another surgery fatal, Dailey said.

Posted by aryan at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)

Romney formally announces run for president

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

Mitt Romney was joined on stage by his family after announcing today he was running for president.

By Scott Helman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney today formally announced his candidacy for president, stoking familiar Republican themes of smaller government and lower taxes while painting himself as an innovator.

Romney, who left office after one term in January, made his run official in a speech at the Henry Ford Museum outside Detroit, in the state where he grew up. He gave an address laced with references to his father, George Romney, who served as governor of Michigan and made an unsuccessful bid for the 1968 GOP nomination. While Romney talked about family and his connection to the Midwest, he held up his successes as a venture capitalist, his triumph over scandal in the 2002 winter Olympics, and his term as governor of Massachusetts as evidence he was ready to lead the nation.

"Throughout my life, I have pursued innovation and transformation," Romney said. "It's taught me the vital lessons that come only from experience, from failures and from successes, from the private, public and voluntary sectors, from small and large enterprise, from leading a state, from actually being in the arena, not just talking about it."

Supporters, friends, and family packed around a stage as he spoke, holding blue and white signs that simply said: "Mitt Romney." An all-American soundtrack pumped into the museum before he came to the podium, with songs by Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, Neil Diamond, and a marching band from Divine Child High School, a Catholic school in Dearborn.

As evidence of that innovative spirit of which he spoke, Romney stood on stage next to a green Ford hybrid sport utility vehicle and a white Nash Rambler, the first economy car that his father helped develop.

"Today, Michigan gets to reclaim Mitt Romney, a man ready to lead this country," Craig DeRoche, former Michigan House speaker and Romney backer, said in an introduction before Romney took the stage.

Romney, 59, had been widely seen as a likely presidential candidate during his final year as governor of Massachusetts. In 2006, he spent more than 212 days out of the state in what many saw as a preparation for a run for the White House. Romney said today that over last Christmas, he and his wife, Ann, gathered their five sons and five daughters-in-law to ask them whether he should run for president. Their support was unanimous.

"And so, with them behind us, with the fine people of Michigan before us, and with my sweetheart beside me, I declare my intention to run for president of the United States," Romney said.

In addition to hitting the traditional GOP touchstones of lower taxes and smaller government, Romney's speech made allusions to his evolving stance on abortion, saying he believed in "the sanctity of human life." When he ran for governor, Romney pledged not to change abortion laws.

He also spoke about the traditional family being the "foundation of America," touching on his opposition to gay marriage, which was legalized by a Supreme Judicial Court ruling during his tenure as Massachusetts governor.

"I believe that people and their elected representatives should make the laws, not unelected judges," Romney said.

More than anything, Romney's speech focused on what he described as his values and successes in business and government, sounding an optimistic theme for his candidacy and ability to solve America's ills at home and abroad.

In an introduction today, Ann Romney said: "Every place that Mitt has gone, he has solved problems that people said were nearly impossible." Her husband embraced that image as a problem solver when he took the stage.

"Innovation and transformation have been at the heart of America's success," Romney said. "If there ever was a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now."

Posted by aryan at 9:45 AM | Comments (0)

Mitt Romney's prepared remarks

The following are the prepared remarks of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as he announced his candidacy today for the Republican nomination for president. The copy of his speech below was provided by Romney’s staff.

"I am happy to be in Michigan this morning. I'm happy to have my brother Scott and Sister Lynn here. And I'm proud to have all my children and grandchildren here too.

"Michigan is where Ann and I were born. It is where we met and fell in love. I still love Ann. And I still love Michigan!

"During my parents' campaigns, I visited all 83 Michigan counties, doing my best to convince Michiganders that Romneys and Republicans could lead the state back to prosperity.

"You know my father as a business leader, a governor, and as an advocate of volunteerism. But he came from humble roots. He labored with lath and plaster. He never graduated from college. But like many other Americans, he made his dreams come true.

"And he made a difference. My father worked here to improve Detroit Schools. He worked to write a new state constitution. And he worked as your governor for six years to get Michigan on the move. His character and integrity left an impression that has lasted through the decades.

"It was Mom who did the lion's share of raising Lynn, Jane, Scott and me. Dad said, that as a successful Mom, she had accomplished more than he. Later she worked in charities, in foster care, in music and the arts, and in volunteerism. She even ran for U.S. Senate.

"I always imagined that I would come back to Michigan someday. That's why I took the bar exam here. I hadn't imagined it would happen this way, but I sure have come back to Michigan today.

"I chose this site for a number of reasons. It's filled with cars and memories. Dad and I loved cars. Most kids read the sports box scores. Dad and I read Automotive News. We came here together, him teaching me about cars that were built before my time.

"The Rambler automobile he championed was the first American car designed and marketed for economy and mileage. He dubbed it a compact car, a car that would slay the gas-guzzling dinosaurs. It transformed the industry.

"This place is not just about automobiles; it is about innovation, innovation that transformed an industry, and in doing so, gave Americans a way of life our grandparents could never have imagined.

"The DC 3 above us was the first true commercial airliner. It transformed aviation from a luxury to a standard mode of transportation.

"Next to us is a Ford hybrid. It is the first giant step away from our reliance on the gasoline engine. It is already changing the world of transportation.

"Just outside is Thomas Edison's laboratory. There, electricity that Benjamin Franklin discovered was transformed from a novelty into a necessity.

"Innovation and transformation have been at the heart of America's success. If there ever was a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now.

"We have lost faith in government, not in just one party, not in just one house, but in government.

"We are weary of the bickering and bombast, fatigued by the posturing and self-promotion. For even as America faces a new generation of challenges, the halls of government are clogged with petty politics and stuffed with peddlers of influence.

"It is time for innovation and transformation in Washington. It is what our country needs. It is what our people deserve.

"I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by a lifelong politician. There have been too many deals, too many favors, too many entanglements…and too little real world experience managing, guiding, leading.

"I do not believe Washington can be transformed by someone who has never tried doing such a thing before, in any setting, by someone who has never even managed a corner store, let alone the largest enterprise in the world.

"Throughout my life, I have pursued innovation and transformation. It has taught me the vital lessons that come only from experience, from failures and successes, from the private, public and voluntary sectors, from small and large enterprise, from leading a state, from being in the arena, not just talking about it. Talk is easy, talk is cheap. It is doing that is hard. And it is only in doing that hope and dreams come to life.

"This Christmas, Ann and I gathered my five sons and five daughters-in-law to ask them whether I should run for President.

"We talked about the special time this is in the history of America – the challenges and the opportunities. We talked about the qualities that are needed in our leaders. They were unanimous. They know our hearts. They know our values. They know my experience innovating and transforming, in business, in the Olympics, and in Massachusetts. And they know we love this country.

"And so, with them behind us, with the fine people of Michigan before us, and with my sweetheart beside me, I declare my intention to run for President of the United States.

"It has been said that a person is defined by what he loves and by what he believes and by what he dreams.

"I love America and I believe in the people of America.

"I believe in God and I believe that every person in this great country, and every person on this grand planet, is a child of God. We are all sisters and brothers.

"I believe the family is the foundation of America – and that we must fight to protect and strengthen it.

"I believe in the sanctity of human life.

"I believe that people and their elected representatives should make our laws, not unelected judges.

"I believe we are overtaxed and government is overfed. Washington is spending too much money.

"I believe that homeland security begins with securing our borders.

"I believe the best days of this country are ahead of us, because…

"I believe in America!

"At this critical time, we must 1) transform our role in the world, 2) strengthen our nation, and 3) build a brighter future for the American family.

"Today, as we stare at the face of radical violent Jihad and at the prospect of nuclear epidemic, our military might should not be subject to the whims of ever-changing political agendas. The best ally of peace is a strong America!

"Our role in the world must be defined not only in terms of our might, but also by our willingness to lead, to serve, and to share. We must campaign for freedom and democracy in our own hemisphere, now threatened by a second aspiring strongman. We must extend our hand to Africa's poor and diseased and brutalized. We must lead the world's civilized nations in a partnership that will support moderate Muslim nations and peoples, to help them embrace principles of modernity and defeat violent Jihad. We must link arms with all responsible nations to block Iran from realizing its nuclear ambition. America must never engage and negotiate with Jihadists who want to destroy us, destroy our friends, and destroy our way of life!

"Across the nation, there is debate about our future course in Iraq. Our desire to bring our troops home, safely and soon, is met with our recognition that if Iraq descends into all-out civil war, millions could die; that Iraq's Sunni region could become a base for Al Qaeda; that its Shia region could be seized by Iran; that Kurd tension could destabilize Turkey; and even that the broader Middle East could be drawn into conflict. The possible implications for America and for American interests from such developments could be devastating. It could mean a future with far more military involvement and far more loss of American life. For these reasons, I believe that so long as there is a reasonable prospect of success, our wisest course is to seek stability in Iraq, with additional troops endeavoring to secure the civilian population.

"And no matter how Iraq is resolved, we must honor and care for the veterans who risked their lives, and for the families whose loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice. Our nation has a sacred pact with those who defend freedom. It is a pact we must never break!

"America must regain our standing in the world. Our influence must once again match our generosity. Over the entire 20th century, no nation gave more, shed more precious lives, and took less for itself than America. Our sacrifice for freedom and for human dignity continues unabated. But this is not the way it is seen by others. America's goodness and leadership in the world, must be as bright and bold as our military might!

"America can also overcome our challenges and seize our abundant opportunities here at home, but only if we follow the right course.

"There are some who believe that America's strength comes from government – that challenges call for bigger government, for more regulation of our lives and livelihood, and for more protection and isolation from competition that comes from open markets.
"That is the path that has been taken by much of Europe. It is called the welfare state. It has led to high unemployment and anemic job growth. It is not the path to prosperity and leadership.

"I believe the American people are the source of our strength. They always have been. They always will be. The American people: hard working, educated, innovative, ready to sacrifice for family and country, patriotic, seeking opportunity above dependence, God-fearing, free American people. When we need to call on the strength of America, we should strengthen the American people, not the American government!

"We strengthen the American people by giving them more freedom, by letting them keep more of what they earn, by making sure our schools are providing the skills our children will need for tomorrow, and by keeping America at the leading edge of innovation and technology.

"Our government has become a weight on the American people, sapping their strength and slowing their climb. We must transform our government – to become a government that is smaller and less bureaucratic, one with fewer regulations and more freedom for our people. The innovation we need today is to make government more responsive to the needs of everyday American citizens. It's time to put government in its place, and to put the American people first!

"At America's core are millions of individual families: families of children and parents, aunts and uncles and cousins, grandparents, foster parents. There is no work more important for our nation's future than the work done in the home.

"But the work done in the home isn't getting easier. Values and morals that have long shaped the development of our children are under constant attack. In too many cases, schools are failing. For some, healthcare is inadequate. Family expenses and government taxes take a larger and larger bite. America cannot continue to lead the family of nations if we fail the families at home.

"How is the American family made stronger? With marriage before children. With a mother and a father in the life of every child. With healthcare that is affordable and portable. With schools that succeed. With taxes that are lower. And with leaders who strive to demonstrate enduring values and morality.

"This was the agenda I pursued as Governor of Massachusetts. This is the agenda I will pursue if elected President.

"When I was a boy, the American dream meant a house in the suburbs. The American dream today must mean more than a house. The new American dream should include a strong family, enduring values, excellence in education, dependable and affordable healthcare, secure employment and secure retirement, and a safe and prosperous homeland. It's time to build a new American dream for all of America's families.

"How will this new American dream be built? Our hopes and dreams will inspire us, for we are an optimistic people. But hope alone is just crossing fingers, when what we need is industrious hands. It is time for hope and action. It is time to do, as well as to dream!

"As we look around us in this museum, we see the evidence of American innovation – airplanes, automobiles, appliances. But these are not America's greatest innovation. America's greatest innovation is freedom. Without freedom, we have nothing. With freedom, nothing can hold us back.

"Freedom has made the American dream possible. Freedom will make the new American dream possible. And with the work, sacrifice, and greatness of spirit of the American people, freedom has made America – and will keep America – the greatest nation on earth. God bless America."

Posted by aryan at 9:30 AM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2007

Judge: Let prof grow medicinal marijuana

By David Abel, GLOBE STAFF

An administrative law judge recommended Monday that a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst be allowed to grow marijuana for research purposes, possibly making the state host to the nation’s second laboratory authorized to grow the drug.

Professor Lyle Craker, a horticulturist who specializes in medicinal plants, has won support from both Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry in his effort to grow marijuana for research.

Marijuana is now only legally grown at the University of Mississippi, but Craker has argued that the drug grown there is neither potent enough nor readily available to researchers.

In her opinion, which can be overruled by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Judge Mary Ellen Bittner said Craker’s bid to grow marijuana "would be in the public interest."

"There would be minimal risk of diversion of marijuana," she wrote. "There is currently an inadequate supply of marijuana available for research purposes ... [and] competition in the provision of marijuana for such purposes is inadequate."

In a phone interview, Craker said he had not read the 87-page opinion. "I understand it’s favorable, and that’s good," he said.

Rick Doblin -- president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a drug research group based in Belmont that hopes to sponsor Craker’s work -- called the decision "a major turning point."

"This is a major step to getting us to do the scientific research that the government has been blocking for the past 30 years," Doblin said. "If the government says no, the hypocrisy of their approach will help fuel efforts for state medical marijuana reforms."

Garrison Courtney, a DEA spokesman, declined to comment on the ruling. "We’re still reviewing the opinion," he said. "We’ll make a determination at a later point."

Craker first applied to the DEA for permission to grow marijuana in 2001. Kennedy and Kerry later wrote a letter to the DEA, saying that the Mississippi lab had an "unjustified monopoly."

In 2004, Craker and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies sued the government in federal court, charging the DEA with unreasonable delays.

The DEA promptly rejected their bid. In 2005, Craker and the group sought the opinion from an administrative law judge.
If the DEA’s administrator decides to reject Bittner’s recommendation, Doblin said Craker and the group would file another lawsuit in federal court.

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

Sisters, one aged 10, accused of assaulting shopper

By Suzanne Smalley, GLOBE STAFF

She had gone to Target with her brother and sister-in-law to buy a DVD player for their new house and decided to go off on her own. She was looking over women’s blouses when a young girl brushed past her. The girl angrily demanded an apology. The woman refused, according to her account, and tried to turn her attention to the rack of clothes.

Shouting ensued. And then, something worse. A group of girls attacked her.

"They all jumped on me," said the woman, a Hyde Park resident who spoke to the Globe Monday on the condition her name be withheld because she feared for her safety. "When I was on the floor, I was getting kicked by all of the girls."

Police said four female suspects, ranging in age from 10 to 20, punched and kicked the woman, pulled her hair out, and yanked her pants off. The woman said she sustained a broken finger.

"It’s the first time ever something like that happened to me," said the woman, a Haitian immigrant who has lived in Boston four years.

Police arrested the four suspects in the beating at South Bay Shopping Center shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday. They charged the three oldest -- ages 14, 16, and 20 -- with assault and battery and the 10-year-old with the more serious crime of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, because she allegedly kicked the woman.

The 10-year-old’s father, Robert Lee of Dorchester, said Monday that the girl is shouldering most of the blame for a fight that she did not participate in. He identified the four as sisters.

But authorities say their investigation indicates the girl was responsible for the worst of the violence.

"At this point in the investigation, the evidence suggests the others did not use their feet in the attack," said Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. Wark said the girl was released without bail and ordered to stay away from the victim.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)

City school officials plan for strike

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

After 13 months of negotiations, Boston teachers appear ready to hold a one-day strike on Thursday for the first time in 14 years, forcing city and school officials to draw up contingency plans for the system’s roughly 58,000 students.

City and school officials Monday detailed plans for Boston’s community centers and public libraries to accommodate children of working parents by expanding their hours and bringing in additional staff. The city would pay about $400,000 for those accommodations, as well as providing breakfast and lunch to the children, and stationing police in the areas of teacher protests and by places out-of-school students might congregate.

While negotiations are expected to continue through Wednesday night, school and Boston Teachers Union officials say they remain apart on the issues of control over classroom size, contributions to health insurance, and teacher pay. In 1993, a one day strike quickly led to a resolution of the contract.

The school system is offering a 10 percent raise in base salaries spread over four years; the teachers are asking for nearly a 22 percent raise spread over four years, according to school and union officials. The school system estimates its offer will cost about $103 million, and the union’s about $237 million.

The school system wants the right to increase class size by up to two students, while the teachers union wants to maintain its right to veto any additions.

Mother Nature, though, could delay the planned strike: A snowstorm is expected late Tuesday. The union sent out an advisory Monday to its members, saying that if school is canceled Wednesday, the vote on whether to strike would be postponed for two weeks.

Boston schools Superintendent Michael G. Contompasis said the threat of the teachers strike was real, though he believed that none of the disputed issues were big enough to warrant the disruption that a strike would cause for students and parents. The money is not there to meet some union demands, he said.

"The union has to give a little bit on some of the real hard-core issues we’re facing," Contompasis said.

Richard Stutman, union president, said negotiations with management have been in good faith.

"We have spent 161 and three-quarters hours negotiating. We are trying dutifully to reach an agreement with them," Stutman said. "But it’s not working."

Teachers and other public employees are prohibited from striking by state law.

Last month, the state Labor Relations Commission ruled that the union had to stop encouraging its members to strike. The union did not stop, and the commission took the union to Suffolk Superior Court, arguing that it is in violation of the order.

At the urging of Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Contompasis, 37 community centers have agreed to take children, most from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and a dozen branch libraries will open earlier than usual, at 8 a.m. There will be no charge to parents at the community centers or libraries, which will add programming, including tutoring, videos, and story time.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:50 PM | Comments (0)

Celebrating Valentine's Day with snow, sleet, rain, and more snow

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The truck laden with equipment that left Fenway Park today heading south to the Red Sox home in Fort Myers, Fla., is a sure sign that spring is almost here.

Almost, but not quite.

New England may get to celebrate Valentine's Day on Wednesday with a winter storm that could dump up to seven slushy inches of snow in Boston in what would be the first major storm of the season. The mix of snow, rain, sleet, and wind should complicate the commute Wednesday morning and cause problems throughout the day as temperatures warm in the afternoon before plunging into the teens by nightfall.

"Boston: Enjoy the nice weather tonight," said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

The Coast Guard is warning boaters to prepare for 50-knot winds and seas over than 20 feet high. A low pressure system across the southern United States is expected produce a nasty storm off the New England coast. The further the storm stays out at sea, the more snow could fall on land, Dunham said.

Snow totals could hit up to 10 inches west of Boston, with up to 15 inches falling in northwestern Massachusetts and southwestern New Hampshire, forecasters predict.

The first flakes are expected to begin falling after 10 p.m. on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, there may be two to four inches of snow on the ground with northeastern winds gusting up to 35 mph.

In the afternoon, temperatures are predicted to creep into the mid 30s, changing snow into sleet and then rain, Dunham said.

When the sun goes down, the temperatures are supposed to drop as low as 16 degrees, causing the snow and sleet to refreeze. An additional two to four inches of snow may cause even more headaches.

Then, again forecasters have had a tough year predicting snow, with less than two inches of the white stuff falling so far this season.

"There's still time for things to go wrong, if you are a snow lover," Dunham said.

On Valentine's Day in 1940, some 14 inches fell on Boston.

Posted by aryan at 5:34 PM | Comments (0)

ID theft scam uses jury duty as ruse

By Globe Staff

A nationwide identify theft scam in which telemarketers try to convince victims that they are suspected of skipping jury duty has targeted residents in Massachusetts.

According to the Office of Jury Commissioner, people across the state have received calls from individuals claiming to be court officials chasing jury duty scofflaws. The callers are trying to elicit dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and other information that can be used for identity theft.

"This is a particularly ingenious scam because it preys on people's fears and indignation at being falsely accused of breaking the law," said Pamela J. Wood, state jury commissioner, in a statement. She added: "Because the caller isn't selling something or directly asking for personal information, the target often doesn't recognize the scam and is only too eager to offer information to persuade the caller that they've made a mistake."

The calls can be immediately dismissed as a scam because the state never uses the phone to communicate with people who have missed jury duty, Wood said. Jury scofflaws are sent reminders and other notices through the mail.

Officials are asking anyone who may have received one of these calls to hang up and dial the Office of Jury Commissioner at (800) THE-JURY or send an e-mail to JurorHelp@jud.state.ma.us

Posted by aryan at 3:37 PM | Comments (0)

Mourners bid goodbye to World War I vet

(Lisa Poole for The Boston Globe)

An honor guard for the Massachusetts National Guard escorted the hearse carrying the body of World War I veteran Antonio Pierro to his burial today at the Swampscott Cemetery.

By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff

SWAMPSCOTT -- The casket of the last surviving World War I veteran in Massachusetts rolled out of St. John the Evangelist Church today accompanied by a six-man honor guard as mourners sang a somber rendition of "America the Beautiful."

Outside the church, a seventh member of the honor guard carefully unfolded an American flag and draped it over the coffin of Antonio Pierro, who died Thursday at Grosvenor Park nursing home in Salem a week short of his 111th birthday. He was believed to be the oldest living veteran in the country before his death.

Pierro emigrated from Italy in 1914 and three years later was drafted into the US Army and sent back to Europe. He served for 18 months as an artilleryman in France.

"He lived out his whole life in gratitude for what he had found here" in the United States, said the Reverend Dennis Burns, who celebrated the Mass today at St. John the Evangelist. "He is united with comrades of his who gave their life in that world war in which he fought to end all wars."

Pierro's death left only seven remaining World War I veterans on the rolls of the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

(Globe File Photo)

Antonio Pierro, pictured at age 107, died Thursday a week short of his 111th birthday.

Posted by aryan at 2:28 PM | Comments (0)

Police respond in Forest Hills to shooting

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A man was shot several times today and found near the Forest Hills T station, police said.

A blue Chevy Astro van with a shattered window is parked opposite the Washington Street entrance to the Arnold Arboretum. Police have placed an orange evidence cone on top of the van, which has its middle passenger door open. It was not immediately clear if the victim was shot near the Forest Hills station or in another location. Boston police have closed Washington Street from the T station south to Ukraine Way.

The victim was rushed to Brigham and Women's Hospital. Details about his condition were not immediately available. While police investigated the shooting, a jury from another case was on a courtroom trip to inspect the Orange Line stop at the Forest Hills station.

On Feb. 5, 2003, a gun shot in a crowded subway car hit Adama Hawa Barry in the abdomen when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant. Barry survived, but her baby died.

Chimezie J. Akara, 23, and Andre Green, 22, are on trial for first-degree murder in Suffolk Superior Court. They both pleaded not guilty.

A contingent of about 25 people including 16 jurors, Judge Thomas E. Connolly, court officers, and prosecutors and defense attorneys made a trip to the Forest Hills station today to ride the Orange Line to the Massachusetts Avenue station to see where Barry was shot.

Posted by aryan at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

Man stabbed at restaurant in Grove Hall

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Police are investigating a stabbing this morning at a restaurant on Blue Hill Avenue that sent a man to the hospital with a knife wound in his back.

Officers responded to a call at 7:50 a.m. at the Jam Rock restaurant in the Grove Hall neighborhood in Boston. The man was stabbed inside the eatery and rushed to Boston Medical Center, where his condition was described as serious to critical, police said.

A woman turned herself today at about 9:40 a.m. to Boston police in connection with the stabbing.Police identified the woman as Meshell Whyte, 34, of Boston.

Whyte pleaded not guilty today in Roxbury Municipal Court to one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Judge Robert Tochka set bail at $5,000 cash, which her family was trying to raise.

In court, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Tonya Platt said Whyte stabbed her husband, identified in court records as Leslie Tracey of Mattapan, once in the back with a 12 to 14 inch black-handled knife.

Posted by aryan at 10:46 AM | Comments (0)

Finneran begins career on talk radio

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

Thomas M. Finneran, the recently confessed felon who ruled Beacon Hill for eight years as speaker of the state House of Representatives, began his new career this morning as a talk radio host.

"Good morning," Finneran said. "That's right, it's neither a dream nor a nightmare."

In his first four-hour show on WRKO-AM dubbed "Finneran's Forum," the former speaker tackled topics that ranged from the execution of Saddam Hussein to state Senator Scott Brown reading profanities to an audience of teens at King Philip Regional High School.

(Finneran, who called Brown's speech "quite appropriate" after the students had posted obscene things about the senator on the Internet, also said that the Wrentham Republican has "as much credentials, as much a foundation to pontificate on foreign policy" as Senator Barack Obama, a leading Democratic candidate for president.)

Finneran, 57, an attorney who served 26 years in the House as a Democrat, left state government in 2004 dogged by accusations he obstructed justice in an investigation of legislative redistricting. He took a lobbying job as president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, a post he left after pleading guilty in federal court on Jan. 5.

He has said that being a talk radio host is his fourth career. Finneran replaced Scott Allen Miller and will be on the air from 6-10 a.m. His call-in guests this morning included Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee; Globe columnist Steve Bailey; and GOP consultant Holly Robichaud.

Information from State House News Service was included in this report.

Posted by aryan at 9:46 AM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2007

It's official: Faust named Harvard president

By Marcella Bombardieri and Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff

Drew Gilpin Faust, a Civil War historian and Harvard University dean, grew misty-eyed Sunday as she declared, "I can imagine no higher calling, no more exciting adventure than to serve as the president of Harvard."

Harvard’s two governing boards unanimously approved Faust’s selection as the 28th president Sunday, then gave her a standing ovation, toasts with champagne, and hugs and kisses before she appeared at a late afternoon news conference.

Faust, 59, who will take the reins on July 1, promised she would strive to make Harvard a better place, particularly by encouraging more collaboration across a divided and unwieldy institution.

She also said in a brief interview that she was moved by the reactions from women and men alike to her appointment as the first woman to lead Harvard, the country's oldest university, founded in 1636. She said she has been flooded by e-mails and calls, stopped on the street, and cheered on an airplane.

"I am the president of Harvard, not the woman president of Harvard," she said at her first news conference, in the Barker Center. "Nevertheless, people see this as part of a new day."

At the news conference, she acknowledged the leap she is making from running a small think tank, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, to managing a major university.

"Nobody’s been president of Harvard until he or she has been president of Harvard," she quipped to dozens of journalists and supporters as she stood behind a lectern below a bust of John Harvard.

Monday, she will make time for the history class she is teaching this semester and sit down with interim president Derek Bok and his staff to plan the transition so she can be ready "to act promptly and decisively" once she starts, she said.

Faust said she will focus in the near term on filling four deanships, for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the medical school, the Graduate School of Design, and for the post she held at the Radcliffe Institute.

Members of the search committee, which included six members of the Corporation, Harvard’s main governing board, and three Overseers, praised Faust’s wide-ranging intellect and leadership abilities.
"Drew wears her extraordinary accomplishments lightly," said James R. Houghton, chairman of the search committee and the senior member of the Corporation. "Her many admirers know her as both collaborative and decisive, both open-minded and tough-minded, both eloquent and understated, both mindful of tradition and effective in leading innovation."

Faust is the first president of Harvard without a Harvard degree since 1672. She scored points because she was both an insider and an outsider, having spent the last six years at Harvard and the previous 25 teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, said Nannerl O. Keohane, another search committee member and the former president of Wellesley College and Duke University.

"You can bring in a breath of fresh air or you can have someone who knows Harvard deeply," Keohane said. "One of the things that turned out to be appealing in the end was the balance she brings."

Members of the Board of Overseers said they went into Sunday’s meeting determined to be more than a rubber stamp, especially after the tumultuous end to Lawrence H. Summers’s presidency a year ago. Before Faust was invited into the meeting, the overseers, a board of alumni, spent about an hour discussing the search with the search committee, which had conducted its work in secret.

During the search, committee members consulted more than 150 individuals, via e-mail or in-depth interviews, about Faust, committee members told overseers at the meeting.

About 1 p.m., Faust arrived at the meeting in Harvard’s Loeb House, kissed her husband, Charles Rosenberg, a medical history professor at Harvard, on the cheek and slipped inside the brick building, where the two governing boards waited.

The champagne was already chilled, but Faust submitted for about an hour to pointed questions from both boards. The group gathered in chairs around her.

A memorable moment, overseers said, came when one person asked what she thought would be the biggest challenge. Many people believe one of Harvard’s biggest faults is that power lies in individual schools that don’t easily cooperate.

Faust told the group her biggest task would be creating a more collaborative process to allow the university to move forward.
"That’s a very important answer," said Mitchell Adams, an overseer and executive director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a quasi-public development agency. "Harvard is so enormous and so complicated and balkanized with powerful sects of self-interest that have a high degree of independence. There’s nothing like it. ... We all have confidence that she’ll be able to do it."

Faust vowed to lead the institution with an eye toward building on its strengths but also "recognizing what we don’t do as well as we should — and not being content until we find ways to do better."

Bombardieri can be reached at bombardieri@globe.com. Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)

Mobster who helped FBI bug induction ceremony, dies

By David Abel and April Simpson, GLOBE STAFF

Mafia soldier Angelo "Sonny" Mercurio, whose cooperation with the FBI led to the first-ever bugging of a mob induction ceremony, has died in Little Rock, Ark., where he lived in the federal witness-protection program, relatives said Sunday.

The-70-year-old former member of the Patriarca crime family died on Dec. 11 of a pulmonary embolism, relatives said.

"He never wanted to be outed ... it was something he was ashamed about," said Michael Liston, a Boston attorney who represented Mercurio, who had been living under the name of Anthony Valenti. ‘‘He described it as being the worst level of hell.’’

Born in Boston’s West End, he grew up working in the family’s business, Pearl Bakery, in Malden. After having trouble with the law, he started Vanessa’s Italian Food Shop, named after his daughter, in the Prudential Center. There, he and other mobsters planned many of their criminal transactions, according to accounts in court.

Mr. Mercurio, who had been a liaison between the Boston Mafia and the Winter Hill Gang, became one of the FBI’s principal informants in the late 1980s, after the FBI bugged his shop and gathered enough evidence to indict him and others for extorting a couple of elderly bookmakers.

Mr. Mercurio’s FBI handler was John J. Connolly, Jr., the now-disgraced former agent who also used James Bulger and Stephen Flemmi as informants.

Mr. Mercurio told the FBI in 1989 that an induction ceremony would be held in Medford that October. He ferried others to the house, where 17 mobsters, including the hierarchy of the New England family gathered as four new members were baptized.

During the ceremony, in which the four pledged their lives to La Cosa Nostra, Mr. Mercurio even turned down the television to make it easier for FBI bugs in the home to pick up the conversation, according to accounts in court.

The tapes were hailed as critical because it was the first time law enforcement had infiltrated the secret proceedings, offering proof of La Cosa Nostra’s existence. Mr. Mercurio’s work with the FBI also played a role in the downfall of Connolly, who was convicted on federal racketeering charges in 2002 and is serving a 10-year sentence.

Gail Marcinkiewicz, an FBI spokeswoman, declined to comment.

In 1990, Mr. Mercurio fled just before being indicted with then-New England mob boss Raymond Patriarca and others who attended the infamous ceremony.

Mercurio later testified that he regretted ever turning informer. He claimed to have been entrapped by the FBI.

In 2000, a judge reduced Mr. Mercurio’s 110-month prison sentence for helping expose serious misconduct by the FBI agents who ran the informant program.

Mr. Mercurio said he wouldn’t have done it again. "I deserve nothing," he said at the time. "When you’re a rat, you deserve nothing."

Judith Gopoian, Mr. Mercurio’s mother-in-law, said Mercurio lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Little Rock.

"I call him the last of the wise guys," said Gopoian, 74, of Lake Worth, Fla., in a phone interview. "Money was nothing to him," Gopoian said. "He just went gambling and did whatever he wanted," often traveling to neighboring states to play the lottery and spend his FBI stipend.

Though the two talked every week, they never discussed his relationship with the FBI. "He was put in a situation that he didn’t like, but he had to do it, or he wouldn’t have been around," Gopoian said. "People think that because of the business he was in, he wasn’t a good human being, but he was."

Gopoian said Mr. Mercurio suffered from a blockage of arteries in the lungs. She said he never fully recovered from an operation he had about two years ago.

In addition to his daughter, Mr. Mercurio is survived by his sister, Lorraine Carvalho of Woburn and his brother Michael of Arizona.

Shelley Murphy of the Globe Staff contributed to this story

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2007

Three children rescued from Boston fire

By Christine McConville, Globe Staff

Three young children were rescued by firefighters from a blaze that broke out in their apartment on Cheney Street in Dorchester late this afternoon, according to fire officials. The children's mother was not in the apartment when the fire began, according to Boston Fire Chief Charles Mitchell.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, according to Deputy Fire Chief Peter Pearson. He said the children, who appeared to be between ages 1 and 6, were taken to Boston Medical Center. He estimated the damage at $50,000.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:44 PM | Comments (0)

Obama supporters rally in downtown Boston

By Nathan Hurst, Globe Correspondent

About 60 supporters of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., rallied in downtown Boston to celebrate Obama's announcement today that he intends to run for president.

Many of those who came to Copley Square to support Obama were members of DraftObama.org, a national grassroots organization that sought to persuade him to run for president.

"Today, we accomplished our goal," Ross Neisuler, head of the group's Massachusetts chapter, said from atop a small platform plastered with Obama support signs in Copley Square. "This is the dawn of a new age of politics for this country."

Supporter Jenny Nordan, 32, of Winchester, said today's event was the first political rally she had ever attended.

"I really feel strongly about this guy," Nordan said as she helped her 4-year-old daughter Abby hold her "Barack '08" sign. " He really has a strength of character that's unparalleled."

Another rally attendee, Jessica Gustin, 25, of Brookline, said she believes Obama is a viable candidate, despite critics who say he has he has too little experience.

"People see this as a new beginning," Gustin said. "It's been years since we've had a truly fresh start. He's going to give that to us."

Posted by mfinucane at 2:49 PM | Comments (0)

Coast Guard monitoring abandoned boat off Nantucket

By Hailey Heinz, Globe Correspondent

The Coast Guard is monitoring a disabled fishing boat as it continues to drift off the coast of Nantucket today.

The three-man crew of the Creole Belle was airlifted to safety Thursday evening; two Coast Guardsmen were injured during the rescue.

The Coast Guard yesterday attached a marker buoy to the abandoned boat, which transmits its location.

The Coast Guard is warning other boats in the vicinity so they can steer clear of the disabled vessel.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:51 PM | Comments (0)

Haverhill teen designs Yu-Gi-Oh! card

By Nathan Hurst, Globe Correspondent

Oh, what a design! A Haverhill teen has won a national contest to design a new cartoon figure.

Adam Valente, 14, won in the 13-to-17-year-old category of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Design Your Destiny Card Contest held by 4Kids Entertainment, the company that provides weekend morning children's cartoons for Fox Network affiliates.

Valente's entry was one of more than 16,000 entries received by 4Kids.

He and the winners of two other age categories were honored with a public announcement on Fox earlier today. He'll also get a Yu-Gi-Oh! video game.

Valente's drawing will appear on a new trading card, part of an upcoming release of Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards, set to hit stores this November.

Yu-Gi-Oh! began as a print comic strip in Japan in the late 1990s and soon became an international children's TV hit, complete with its own line of toys, cards, and other merchandise.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)

February 9, 2007

Truck crashes into beauty salon in JP

By Dan Muse, Globe Correspondent

Five people suffered minor injuries this afternoon when a truck veered off Centre Street in Jamaica Plain and crashed into a beauty salon, a fire official said.

The truck went inside the Ultra Beauty Shop and jarred loose two billboards on top of the building, said Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department.

The truck, which says "Cobra Heating and Ventilation" on the side, hit the building at about 2:30 p.m. The driver and four people who were standing in front of the salon were taken to area hospitals, MacDonald said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Posted by aryan at 5:11 PM | Comments (0)

Cartoon Network head resigns after Boston bomb scares

(AP Photo/Turner Broadcasting, Edward M. Pio Roda)

Jim Samples, Cartoon Network executive vice president and general manager, resigned today after a marketing stunt caused a terrorism scare Jan. 31 in Boston.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The general manager of the Cartoon Network resigned today as the fallout continues to grow from a botched guerilla marketing campaign that sparked a series of bomb scares last week in Boston.

Jim Samples told colleagues today in an e-mail provided to the Globe that he deeply regretted "the negative publicity" spawned by the blinking cartoon characters meant to publicize the animated show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" and saw no other choice but to leave the network after 13 years.

"As general manager of Cartoon Network, I feel compelled to step down, effective immediately, in recognition of the gravity of the situation that occurred under my watch," Samples, 44, wrote in the e-mail provided by O'Neill and Associates, a Boston public relations firm. "It's my hope that my decision allows us to put this chapter behind us."

Almost 40 of the flashing lights were placed on bridges, underpasses, and other pieces of infrastructure throughout metropolitan Boston. In daylight, people mistook the black boxes for possible bombs when they saw wires and circuit boards.

Law enforcement spent much of the day scrambling across the region responding to bomb scares. Several bridges, a section of Interstate 93, and a portion of the Charles River were closed during the mayhem.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he took today's news as evidence that Turner Broadcasting was taking "full responsibility" for a stunt that nearly brought his city to a standstill on Jan. 31.

"I am pleased to know they have taken the incident seriously and action has been taken against the people who authorized it,” Menino said in a statement. "The resignation of their top Cartoon Network executive should serve as a message to all that these types of marketing tactics will not and should not be tolerated."

Cartoon Network's parent company -- Turner Broadcasting System -- and Interference, Inc., the New York City marketing company hired to carry out the campaign, agreed earlier this week to pay $2 million in restitution to law enforcement.

Mark Lazarus, the president of Turner Entertainment Group, will lead Cartoon Network in the interim. Lazarus praised Samples' time at the network.

"He has our respect, appreciation and sincere best wishes," Lazarus wrote in an e-mail to the staff also provided by O'Neill and Associates. "He has been a valued friend and mentor to people throughout the company and around the world."

Attorney General Martha Coakley, the lead negotiator in the restitution settlement, has said she is also negotiating to settle criminal cases against Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, who were hired by Interference to place 38 electronic signs in the Boston region.

Posted by aryan at 3:07 PM | Comments (0)

Former Boston ATF head promoted to agency's number three position

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The former head of the Boston office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was promoted today to the number three slot in the federal agency that investigates bombings, high-profile arsons, and the illegal use of firearms.

William J. Hoover, who ran the Boston office from 2003 to early 2006, will start as ATF's assistant director for field operations on Feb. 15.

Hoover, 46, currently runs the Washington, D.C. field office, a post he took in January 2006 after leaving Boston. He is a native of Woodstock, Va.

Hoover's appointment was made by US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, who is currently doing double duty of running the federal prosecutors in Massachusetts and is also serving as acting director of the ATF in Washington.

Sullivan also named Ronnie A. Carter, 53, to be chief operating officer, the bureau's number two position. Carter formerly ran the Dallas' ATF field office, the agency said.

Sullivan said in a statement that he is overhauling the ATF's top management and the new appointments are part of that effort.

"The changes are intended to recognize the greatest asset ATF has -- its people - -and to provide an opportunity for others in the organization to help lead the agency," Sullivan said in a statement.

Posted by aryan at 2:29 PM | Comments (0)

Source: Harvard will name its first female president

(AP Photo/Harvard University, Tony Rinaldo)

Drew Gilpin Faust is a historian and currently Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff

Harvard University's main governing board has chosen historian Drew Gilpin Faust as the university's next president, a person close to the search process said today.

If the selection is approved by an elected group of alumni, Faust, the dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, will become the first woman to lead Harvard.

The Corporation, as the governing board is known, will present its recommendation Sunday to the Overseers, an oversight board of about 30 alumni, the Globe reported today.

The Overseers, who must approve the choice, wield far less power than the Corporation and are considered all but certain to approve the recommendation, as they have done in the past.

Faust, the dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, has been the front-runner over the past week, and several people close to the search said they were unaware of any other candidates being considered in the final stages of deliberation.

Many people on campus believe that Faust would be a very different presence than former Harvard president Lawrence H. Summers. She is known as a calm consensus-builder and a devoted scholar, while Summers was famous for a confrontational style and had left academia for government before taking the helm of Harvard.

Faust, dean of the Radcliffe Institute since 2001, has never run a major institution, and she did not attend Harvard, something the university usually prefers.

She is widely admired for her solid judgment and people skills, as well as her scholarly work on the Civil War and the American South. But some people on campus believe that she lacks the vision and experience for the job.

Born and raised in Virginia, she earned a bachelor's degree in history from Bryn Mawr College and a master's and doctorate in American civilization from the University of Pennsylvania. She taught history at Penn for 25 years and is the author of several history books.

Radcliffe, the smallest of Harvard's 10 academic units, has been her biggest management challenge. The former women's college has no students or full-time faculty.

But Faust won praise for transforming the college into a thriving think tank and eradicating an annual deficit of more than $3 million. She also laid off a quarter of the staff and transferred programs to other institutions without uproar. Today, Radcliffe houses a women's history library and hosts 50 research fellows a year.

She is married to medical historian Charles Rosenberg, a Harvard professor, and has two daughters.

A final approval Sunday would end nearly a year of work to find a replacement for Summers, who announced Feb. 21, 2006, that he would step down because of his repeated battles with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Former president Derek Bok has served as the interim leader since July 1.

Summers's comments two years ago suggesting that women have less "intrinsic aptitude" for science than men have made some alumni eager for a female president.

However, choosing a woman was not considered a major priority for the search, several sources have said.

Some members of the search committee preferred to name a scientist, because the university is undertaking a historic expansion of its campus in Allston, with a heavy emphasis on science, and because science is seen by many as the most important frontier of human knowledge today.

Two other insiders, Elena Kagan, the law school dean, and Steven E. Hyman, the provost, were on the short list last month.

Maria Sacchetti contributed to this report.

Posted by aryan at 1:17 PM | Comments (0)

After arrests at train yard, police brace for graffiti artist gathering

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff, and Michael Naughton, Globe Correspondent

Transit police are bracing for a wave of up vandals streaming into Boston this weekend for an underground gathering of graffiti artists as law enforcement steps up patrols to curb a spike in illicit, spray-painted murals on trains.

Officers arrested five out-of-town suspects near a subway train yard in Braintree at 1:45 a.m. who came from as far away as Berlin, Germany. Authorities allege the men were caught in a rented red sports utility vehicle brimming with paint fumes and had 39 spray cans, rubber gloves, spray nozzles, cameras, hand warmers, a GPS positioning system, and other tools of the trade.

The men, transit police allege in court documents, had just finished vandalizing trains in a yard near Forest Hills station in Jamaica Plain, where MBTA cars had been saturated in beige, white, blue, pink and purple paint. Officers allege that the men then drove to Braintree to strike another rail yard but were caught on an access road.

Attorney Neil Madden, who is defending Marius Schmieling, 25, of Dortmund, Germany, said the five men were looking for somewhere to eat in Braintree and had nothing to do with any graffiti.

"They don't know anything about a [graffiti artist] convention," said Madden, adding that his client was questioned by police about the event.

"They are a little shocked," Madden said. "They are not used to dealing with the criminal justice system. They came here for a holiday. They came here to see Boston, see friends, and have fun."

All five men pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to graffiti today in Quincy District Court. The other suspects were identified as Michael R. Zieper, 22, of Waunakee, Wis; Christphe Chevalier, 27, of Petit Lancy, Switzerland; Tom J. Grundmann, 23, of Berlin, Germany; and Philip Lozito, 23, of Charlotte, N.C.

Judge Diane Moriarty demanded that the three foreigners to surrender their passports and ordered all five men to stay off MBTA property. She also impounded the red SUV.

The men did not respond to reporters' questions about the case when they left court and squeezed into a red taxi. Lozito, who had wrapped his head in a beige scarf, did stop to ask a female newspaper photographer on a date.

Transit police worry that the incidents this morning could be the start of a destructive weekend.

"We really anticipate the potential for serious damage over the next 72 hours," said MBTA Lieutenant Mark Gillespie, who wanted to publicize the arrests to discourage graffiti artists. "We are going to be on heightened alert."

Transit officials have seen a spike in graffiti since mid January, Gillespie said. Some of the vandalism has covered the entire sides of train cars, he said.

Boston police will also be on heightened alert this weekend, Gillespie said.

Posted by aryan at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2007

Ousted parishioners appeal to higher power

By Charles A. Radin, GLOBE STAFF

Attorneys for parishioners of St. James the Great Church in Wellesley appealed Thursday to the Supreme Judicial Court to allow a jury to decide whether the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is entitled to keep the property and other parish assets following Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley’s decision to close the church.

The parishioners suing the archbishop are members of the family of James Maffei, in whose memory they gave money and sold land to the archdiocese below cost, contributions that enabled the archdiocese to construct the church.

They assert that the priest who encouraged them in those church-building efforts promised the church would continue on the site in perpetuity. That constituted a trust arrangement, the Maffeis argue, and O’Malley therefore does not have the right to claim the closed church’s assets for the archdiocese or disperse those assets to other parishes.

The case was thrown out by a Suffolk Superior Court judge in March 2006. Questions and comments raised by the high court justices Thursday suggested that they may not be inclined to overturn that lower court ruling.

"It’s like a buyer and seller" rather than a trust, Justice Judith A. Cowin said of the deal for the land on which the case centers.

Justice John M. Greaney said that even if there were a trust arrangement, "that gets into the relationship between church and parishioners, and courts just don’t get into that."

The proceedings were closely watched by dissident parishioners from other churches the archdiocese is closing, many of who have pending suits arguing that they, not the archdiocese, own the assets of their parishes.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)

State reads, responds to student letters

Some people get frustrated with hard-to-understand directions. Some feel helpless in the face of government bureaucracy.

Then there are the fourth-graders at Helen Keller Elementary School in Franklin.

After they took the practice MCAS test last year, many of them had the same complaint -- they couldn’t understand the instructions on the part of the test that asks for short essay answers to questions about their interests or experiences, or their response to a short reading passage.

The students had just learned to write formal business letters, so their teacher, Christine Hunt, assigned them a new task: Write to the state Department of Education asking for simpler, "kid-friendly" guidelines.

It worked.

This week, they learned that the state has added new guidelines to every English Language Arts exam in grades 3-8 and 10. Following the students’ suggestion, the instructions will be offered as an acronym: READ, which stands for "Read the question carefully, Explain your answer, Add supporting details, and Double-check your work."

"By really spelling out the four key components that we’re looking for, we think it’s going to have an impact," said Heidi Guarino, a department spokeswoman.

The students are delighted. Some said they would have done better last year with more guidance.

"I don’t think any of us realized what a difference we made," said 10-year-old Hannah Daly.

Hunt said the children never imagined the state would listen.

"I’m so excited for them because it’s such an important lesson that they learned, that they can make a difference by writing."

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

Panel weighs prescription drug coverage

By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff

A state board decided Thursday to reconsider whether prescription drug coverage should be part of the basic health insurance everyone in the state must have by July 1.

Members of the board, which is overseeing the state’s universal health insurance law, agree that medicines are an essential part of any comprehensive coverage, but they are seeking ways to keep insurance premiums affordable. In addition, they are concerned that a prescription drug requirement could force as many as 210,000 people who are already insured to buy more coverage.

Thursday, the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector board asked insurance companies to price two new plans, one with drug coverage and one without. The board is expected to review the new bids at its March 8 meeting and decide on March 20 what level of coverage will satisfy the new state mandate.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:59 PM | Comments (0)

Child's death prompts state to assign doctor to DSS

By Maria Cramer and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

State officials facing questions after the death of a 4-year-old girl announced today that a physician will be appointed to the Department of Social Services to provide medical consultation.

The doctor will be a temporary solution while DSS establishes a "longer-term, comprehensive system" for medical oversight of its cases, said Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, the Secretary of Health and Human Services in a statement released this afternoon. The move comes after the death of Rebecca Riley on Dec. 13 from a prescription drug overdose.

"Based on my initial inquiries into Rebecca Riley's tragic death, I have identified that the Department of Social Services needs the capability to provide a medical assessment for cases in which there are questions or concerns about medical care that children receive independent of DSS," Bigby said in the statement.

At a press conference, DSS Commissioner Harry Spence defended his caseworkers and the handling of Rebecca's case.

"This child did not fall through the cracks," Spence said.

Rebecca's parents pleaded not guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder charges after they were accused of giving her a fatal dose of an antihyperactivity drug. The child's psychiatrist, Dr. Kayoko Kifuji of Tufts-New England Medical Center, agreed Wednesday to stop treating patients while the state investigates her role in the case.

The Globe reported this morning that DSS did not seek an independent review of the Rebecca's treatment despite receiving a report last summer raising concerns about whether she was taking too many powerful prescription drugs. DSS dropped the issue after her mother and doctors made assurances that the treatment was appropriate.

DSS spokeswoman Denise Monteiro told the Globe on Wednesday that the agency launched a review of Rebecca's medical treatment after her death out of concern for her 6-year-old sister and 11-year-old brother, who had received similar diagnoses and medication. DSS took custody of Rebecca's siblings and put them in foster homes.

The agency has been working to create a panel of experts that it could consult for independent medical opinions since the controversy over Haleigh Poutre, a girl who was allegedly beaten by her adoptive mother and stepfather in the fall of 2005 and slipped into a coma.

Just as DSS won the right to remove her from life support after a long court battle, Haleigh breathed on her own and showed some responsiveness. Her grandmother testified Wednesday at a hearing at the State House that 12-year-old Haleigh can now write part of her name, eat scrambled eggs, and flex a muscle when told she is strong.

Posted by aryan at 5:15 PM | Comments (0)

DA: Woman found ablaze in Wilmington also beaten, strangled

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The state medical examiner determined that the 25-year-old woman whose body was found burning in Wilmington was also strangled and beaten, a spokesman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone, Jr. said today.

After completing an autopsy, the state medical found that Danielle Oliverio had cracked ribs and a broken bone in her throat, according to spokesman Corey Welford. The Quincy woman's death certificate says she died from a combination of smoke inhalation, blunt impact with fractured ribs, and strangulation with a hyoid bone fracture, Welford said.

Oliverio, the mother of a 10-year-old boy, was last seen in Chelsea on Jan. 29. At 9:11 p.m. that night, Wilmington police responded to a report of a brush fire near 200 Ballardvale St. and found her burning body behind a vacant warehouse. No arrests have been made in connection with her death.

"It continues to be an active and ongoing investigation," Welford said.

Posted by aryan at 3:36 PM | Comments (0)

A second LNG port approved

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

The US Maritime Administration approved a liquefied natural gas port 13 miles southeast of Gloucester today, the second offshore LNG port to be approved in the last two weeks to help feed New England’s growing energy demand.

Northeast Gateway, proposed by Texas-based Excelerate Energy, will dock tankers virtually around the clock at underwater buoys to turn supercooled liquid back into a gas and pump it through a series of pipes to New England homes and businesses. The company expects to be operational by the end of the year.

The Northeast Gateway project approval was expected: The last major hurdle was overcome in late December when former Governor Mitt Romney agreed that it and a second project nearby, called Neptune, could be built.

While fishermen don’t like the proposed ports, because they are excluded from prime fishing grounds, and others are worried about potential harm to federally endangered whales, the projects have largely been seen as the lesser of two evils. By agreeing to offshore plants, politicians and residents hope they can prevent terminals from being built near people who would be in danger if there were a terrorist attack or catastrophic accident.

The extensive review by the federal government "show that Northeast Gateway is a safe, effective and low-impact way to meet the clean energy needs of New England," said Excelerate Energy Vice President Rob Bryngelson.

Posted by kweintraub at 3:17 PM | Comments (0)

Navy sets decommissioning date for USS John F. Kennedy

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff file photo)

The USS John F. Kennedy, pictured in Boston Harbor on May 2005, will be decommissioned in March.

By Globe Staff

The 1,050-foot-long aircraft carrier named for President John F. Kennedy will be decommissioned on March 23 after nearly 40 years of patrols and battles, from scrapes with Libyan fighter jets in the Mediterranean Sea to the current war in Iraq.

The ship -- christened the USS John F. Kennedy by the late president's then 9-year-old daughter Caroline in May 1967 -- will make Boston its last port of call. The aircraft carrier will be at the North Jetty in South Boston's Marine Industrial Park from March 1 to 5 for a host of ceremonies which will include a public visiting that Saturday and Sunday, according to Lieutenant Paul Brawley, a Boston-based spokesman for the Navy.

After it is decommissioned, the USS John F. Kennedy will join other mothballed vessels at the Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, Penn. That will leave the USS Kitty Hawk as the last fossil-fuel burning aircraft carrier in active use by the Navy.

The USS John F. Kennedy could someday be turned into a museum, Brawley said.

Posted by aryan at 2:57 PM | Comments (0)

MBTA: T riders take to CharlieCard

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

Numbers for the first month of CharlieCard usage show that despite fare increases the T's new automated system is being quickly adapted by riders, with 575,000 of the plastic cards in circulation after the program's first 30 days.

By comparison, the Chicago Transit Authority's ChicagoCard had 372,000 in circulation as of December, nearly four years after its introduction for bus and subway service.

The use of the CharlieCards has also seemed to change the way people pay to ride on Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subways, buses, and trolleys. For the first time in the authority's history, the new fare card has made credit and debit card transactions account for more than 40 percent of the T's revenue.

"We have exceeded our expectations for the first 30 days," MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas said today in a telephone interview.

In January, 86 percent of T riders used CharlieCards and paid the lowest amount under the new fare structure. About 14 percent of riders paid a new surcharge by using CharlieTickets or paying cash, a number Grabauskas said he want to lower in the next several months.

In addition, 87 percent of all bus passengers used the low-fare CharlieCards, while 13 percent of riders paid a surcharge. On Green Line surface stops, 96 percent paid with CharlieCards and 4 percent paid a surcharge.

Posted by aryan at 1:36 PM | Comments (0)

Swampscott Marine captain dies in helicopter crash

(Janet Knott/Globe Staff)

Marine Captain Jennifer J. Harris, 28, was the second Swampscott native killed in the Iraq war.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A Marine captain from Swampscott, who tackled the rigors of the US Naval Academy and became a helicopter pilot, died Wednesday in a crash during her third tour in Iraq, according to a town veteran official.

Captain Jennifer J. Harris, 28, was the second Swampscott native to die in the war. This morning, firefighters hung black and purple memorial bunting on the sides of their station on Burrill Street. Flags also flew at half-staff at the police station next door.

James Schultz, the veteran's agent in town and a Swampscott police detective, said he had known Harris since she was senior at Swampscott High School in 1996. He said he visited her family shortly after the military notified them about her death.

A CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed on Wednesday in a field in Anbar province, about 20 miles from Baghdad. All seven people onboard died, according to the Associated Press.

Harris went to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where she graduated in 2000. Schultz said she chose the most difficult path at the academy when she decided to be trained as a Marine officer.

"She liked to take on the challenges," Schultz said.

This morning a steady parade of cars stopped by her family's greenish ranch-style home on Elwin Street in Swampscott. A flag in the backyard flew at half-staff. A note on the door asked that the media: "Please respect our privacy. Thanks."

"Jennifer Harris exemplified the best of what this country has to offer," her family said in statement read to the media at the Swampscott VFW hall. "She was proud to be a Marine and proud to serve her country."

Harris was an only child. Her father "was incredibly proud of his daughter," Schultz said.

During Harris' first tour, her father remained relatively calm, Schultz said. He grew a little more apprehensive during her second, and by the third tour, "He seemed to be a little more pensive," Schultz said. The family was devastated by her death.

US Army Specialist Jared J. Raymond, who graduated from Swampscott High School in 2004, died last September when an improvised explosive device detonated near the tank he was driving in Iraq. Raymond, 20, was the first Swampscott resident to die in combat since the Vietnam War.

Posted by aryan at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)

Statement by the family of Marine Captain Jennifer Harris

Anthony and Linda Macone, spokespeople for the family of Marine Captain Jennifer Harris, read the following statement to the media today at the Joseph L. Steven's VFW Post in Swampscott.

"Jennifer Harris exemplified the best of what this country has to offer. She was proud to be a Marine and proud to serve her country. At 28 years-of-age, she did more than most people ever do. She graduated at the top of her class at Swampscott High School, went on to the United States Naval Academy, and became a first-rate helicopter pilot.

"She had a passion for life and was a compassionate human being. Her family and friends will miss her very much. We are all taking this very hard and wish some time to grieve in private."

Posted by aryan at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

Everett fire displaces two families

By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Staff

A two-alarm fire tore through a three-story, wood-frame home this morning on Montrose Street in Everett, destroying the upper floor, a fire official said.

The blaze displaced two families, but caused no serious injuries, according to Deputy Fire Chief Michael Ragucci.

Below freezing temperature challenged firefighters as they battled the flames, with a hydrant freezing and a hose breaking.

The fire began shortly after 1 a.m. and took four hours to extinguish, Ragucci said. Firefighters were able to keep the blaze from spreading to other nearby homes.

A local chapter of the Red Cross was on the scene to help the displaced families.

Posted by aryan at 9:47 AM | Comments (0)

Police investigate second murder in two days

By Megan Tench, GLOBE STAFF

Relatives and community leaders called it a cold-blooded killing.

It was 3 a.m. today when Tyrice Brown, 19, a senior at Monument High School in South Boston, was shot during a confrontation with someone inside a 24/7 convenience store in Roxbury, authorities said.

The gunman fled, police said. Brown, who was identified by relatives, was was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center. Police did not release his name today, but said the shooting was not random.

By this afternoon, Brown’s family had left their home in the city and piled in their cars to take on the grim task of alerting relatives the young man was dead.

Their anger was palpable.

"This violence needs to stop; nobody wins in these situations," said one relative who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation.
"We are grieving," the woman said in a telephone interview. "Whoever killed him, this man shot him down in cold blood like he was an animal. This man, whoever he is, he must have family who loves him who would never want to go through what we are going through now."

The relative characterized Brown as a sweet young man who lived with his aunt and was trying to make a life for himself despite some past troubles.

"He was a young kid trying to live," she said. "He had been through a lot, but he didn’t give up. He didn’t want to give up on his education. He was ready to graduate. Tyrice was basically a happy kid. He was sad in some ways, but he tried to look at the best of things. He wanted a good life."

Brown’s slaying, Boston’s fifth homicide so far this year, occurred a day after police found the body of 25-year-old Damien Lackland at Mount Hope Cemetery in Mattapan.

Police have not made arrests in either case. There were four homicides reported in Boston at this time last year.

Posted by aryan at 9:20 AM | Comments (0)

February 7, 2007

Governor not yet looking into details

By Lisa Wangsness, GLOBE STAFF

WESTPORT -- Governor Deval Patrick signaled Wednesday that he has little appetite to take on a state policy, one fiercely protected by the state’s police unions, that allows officers to collect tens of thousands of dollars extra each year for working construction details.

It’s "not at the top of my list, to be perfectly candid," Patrick said, in response to a Globe report that nearly 10 percent of the State Police force earned more last year than his salary as governor because of detail work.

Patrick said he understands concerns about the high paychecks, but downplayed the idea that the state could save much money by changing the detail policy, which automatically assigns police to most public and private road and utility work sites. He said the cost of the details is more of a concern for private construction businesses, who must pay the officers a higher wage than civilian flaggers earn.

A Patrick spokesman said later that the governor was speaking mostly about local police details, which have less of an impact on state coffers than the State Police details.

The Globe report found that State Police officers make millions of dollars a year from state projects, $6.1 million on Big Dig details and $7.2 million on Massachusetts Port Authority details in 2006.
Utility companies pass the cost of the details along to ratepayers, said David Tuerck, executive director of the conservative Beacon Hill Institute, and the state is a large consumer of electricity and telecommunications services.

Tuerck said he found Patrick’s reluctance to take on the issue of details to be disappointing. "It would be a signal that the state is getting tough on public employee unions, which is what the state really needs to do to save money," he said.

Kyle Sullivan, Patrick’s press secretary, said later that the governor has not ruled out reviewing the detail policy later in his term.

"The governor is focused on his top priorities of writing the state budget, reorganizing government, and putting together a comprehensive education plan for Massachusetts," Sullivan said. "This focus on these priorities does not foreclose the possibility of looking at the police detail issue in the future."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)

Friends defend hoaxers

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Friends and supporters of the two Boston men charged last week in the marketing scheme gone wrong are trying to marshal public sympathy as Attorney General Martha Coakley considers a way to resolve their cases.

A new website asks supporters to call and urge Coakley, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and other elected officials to drop the charges against Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28.

Supporters are worried that the men’s rambling press conference after their arraignment -- in which they refused to talk to reporters about anything but human hair -- badly damaged their image, making them seem callous and indifferent to the scare their work had caused.

"At this point, the best route of action would be to call these people and request that charges against peter and sean [sic] be dropped," reads a message on the website. "Also, we politely ask that you avoid the civil disobedience and social rebellion acts that many have mentioned. We don’t want to hurt peter and sean’s case by inciting more public outrage in their direction. We want the public outrage to be focused on their innocence."

Wednesday, lawyers for the men met with two prosecutors in Coakley’s office, in hope of resolving the case. After about an hour, no resolution was reached, said Stevens’s lawyer, Michael L. Rich.

"We had a friendly meeting and began our discussions and essentially hope to reach an amicable resolution," Rich said Wednesday.

Berdovsky and Stevens have each pleaded not guilty to disorderly conduct and placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison on the hoax charge and six months for disorderly conduct.

Wednesday, Rich said he did not anticipate Stevens entering into a plea deal because Stevens never intended the ads to cause alarm and is "very sorry for any fear" they incited.

Meanwhile, two public safety officials briefed on the investigation said Wednesday that MBTA police officers were photographing the scene at Sullivan Square Station after the first ad was discovered. Their photos show Berdovsky videotaping police who were investigating the battery-powered, lighted board that he and Stevens installed near the station. The images were handed over to Coakley, one of the officials said.

Berdovsky’s lawyer, Jeffrey J. Pyle, said that as Berdovsky started filming, he was unaware his sign was causing the scare and that when he realized it was, he called Interference Inc., the Manhattan marketing firm that had hired him. The firm told him: "Sit tight. We’ll handle it," Pyle said.

A spokesman for Interference said that the firm’s executives then called their client, Turner Broadcasting System, and then Boston police to tell them the signs were harmless ads for a cartoon.
But Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for the police, said Wednesday that the department has no record of a call from Interference. Interference’s spokesman, Jesse Derris, said the firm insists that it placed the call.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)

Chain to loosen limits on lobsters

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

Transforming the rough craft of lobstering into a gentle art, a New Hampshire outfit has persuaded Whole Foods Market to waive its ban on live lobster sales at a new store opening next week in Portland, Maine.

For Whole Foods, an upscale grocery chain promising "animal compassionate" foods, the decision marks another effort to provide its customers with the delicacy while giving the lobsters what it considers a decent demise. Whole Foods heightened a national debate last year after it first offered little condos for lobsters in holding pens so the animals would not attack each other, and then scuttled the idea and banned all live lobster sales, equating current lobster catch-and-ship techniques with torture.

But the Little Bay Lobster Co. of Newington, N.H., had developed a method to deliver the freshest, healthiest lobsters to stores -- not to please the lobsters, but to fatten its profits. The firm’s "two-touch" lobster harvesting method -- in which the animals go from boat to store with minimal contact with humans and other lobsters -- deeply impressed Whole Foods executives when they visited Little Bay.

"We did it for the bottom line. But in the end, it achieved Whole Foods’ goals," said Craig Rief, Little Bay’s president and chief executive officer.

Texas-based Whole Foods, the nation’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods, said its ban on live lobster sales will continue at its other 191 stores around North America and the United Kingdom because it considers longer journeys harmful to the lobsters’ well-being.

"Human beings are all going to die, too. But the quality of life is important while we’re alive. It is the same with animals," said David Lannon, Whole Foods’ North Atlantic regional president.

At the Portland store, which opens Wednesday, workers will use a "CrustaStun" device to instantaneously kill lobsters with 110 volts rather than steaming, which Whole Foods considers unethical because it can take several minutes for the hard-shelled animal to die. Customers will still be able to purchase live lobsters and kill them at home.

Lobsters that have been at the store for seven days -- tracked by color-coded claw bands -- will be zapped and end up in the deli as lobster salad or other delicacies. Store officials said one week, even in separate compartments in the store’s pen, is long enough.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

Niki Tsongas lays groundwork for campaign

By Sarah Schweitzer

Niki Tsongas is wasting no time lining up support for a possible bid for the 5th Congressional District seat. She told the Globe today that she has reached out to women in top political posts in Massachusetts, as well as Emily's List, the Washington-based group that supports pro-choice female political candidates.

"There have been many people who have been effective in achieving elective office, and I can only learn from them," said Tsongas, the wife of the late U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas, who once represented the district.

Tsongas is one of more than a half dozen high-profile names that have surfaced as possible contenders for the seat held by Marty Meehan since 1992. Read more about the early jockeying for the seat here, in a story that will appear in Thursday's Globe NorthWest section.

Speculation that Meehan might vacate the seat began last week after he interviewed for the chancellorship of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

The congressman has said he has no immediate plans to leave his post but confirmed that had in fact interviewed with the search committee. A decision on the chancellorship is not expected for several months.

Should Meehan bow out, Tsongas would be well positioned for a race in the district that includes Lowell, Lawrence and towns like Concord and Carlisle. Tsongas is well-known in Lowell, both for her late husband's work, and for her work at the college and on local boards and commissions. She now lives in Charlestown, but said she plans a move back to Lowell shortly. She is a lawyer who is now the dean of external affairs for Middlesex Community College in Lowell.

Posted by ddahl at 8:40 PM | Comments (0)

Boston schools superintendent warns parents of possible strike

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Michael G. Contompasis sent letters to parents today warning them of a possible teachers' strike next Thursday and advising them to plan ahead for child care.

School will be cancelled that day if the Boston Teachers Union votes during its meeting next Wednesday afternoon to go on a one-day strike, Contompasis wrote. It would be the first Boston teachers strike in 14 years.

Strikes by public employees are illegal in Massachusetts, and the state Labor Relations Commission ruled recently that it is illegal even for teachers to meet to vote about the possibility of a strike.

"The Boston School Committee and I regret that the Boston Teachers Union would resort to an illegal strike and disrupt the education of 57,000 Boston Public Schools students to advance its bargaining positions," Contompasis wrote in his letter. "Such conduct is illegal and unprofessional, and we have urged our employees not to engage in this illegal activity."

Richard Stutman, union president, declined to comment today. If teachers approve a strike next week, they will spend the day picketing their schools and the system's downtown headquarters.

Posted by aryan at 6:22 PM | Comments (0)

Boston targeted by The Onion for reaction to guerilla marketing

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The $2 million that companies agreed to pay in restitution for last week's bomb scares may have silenced some wisecracks about Boston overreacting to a guerilla marketing campaign that used blinking cartoon characters.

Some jokes, however, keep coming.

The Onion, a satirical weekly newspaper, took aim at Boston in its regular American Voices feature, a mockery of the classic man-on-the-street journalism questionnaire.

The Onion asked its fake people what they thought of Turner Broadcasting and Interference marketing's agreement to pay $2 million in compensation for "removing illegally placed promotional signs that were thought to be bombs."

"That's a lot, but think of how much they would have had to pay the City of Boston if they had actually been real bombs," said Penelope LaCroix, who was identified as a poker dealer.

Carter Clay, identified as a systems analyst, said: "Boston reacted correctly -- authorities there are obviously aware of the new terrorist trend of bringing as much attention as possible to hidden explosive devices."

Last week, Boston's reaction to the campaign for the animated television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force became fodder for late-night comics.

Posted by aryan at 6:10 PM | Comments (0)

Police question Pembroke HS students after bomb threats

By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Staff

Four female students are being questioned by police today after two bomb threats were found written on the walls of women's restrooms at Pembroke High School.

The two messages -- "I am bombin' this school" and "Everyone in this school ... should die" -- were found about 10 a.m., according to a statement from Superintendent Patricia Randall. The first threat was found in a bathroom near the cafeteria, and the second was discovered in a restroom near the social studies section of the school.

Officials notified police and put staff on heightened alert. A search of the building by staff and a State Police bomb sniffing dog did not find any explosives, according to the statement. On the advice of Pembroke Chief of Police Willard J. Boulter Jr., officials decided not to evacuate the school.

Two female students were quickly identified as suspects and admitted to writing the threats, according to the statement. Boulter said in a telephone interview that two additional girls have also been questioned. None of the students were identified by name because they are minors.

The students, who Boulter described as people of interest, could be charged with felonies that carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and $10,000 fines.

Posted by aryan at 4:28 PM | Comments (0)

Inmate accused of assaulting Entwistle in jail

(Josh Reynolds for WBZ-TV Channel 4)

Eben Howard pleaded not guilty today to one count of assault and battery after prosecutors allege he kicked Neil Entwistle in the stomach.

By Mac Daniel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Middlesex County prosecutors charged an inmate with a jailhouse assault today after they say he kicked Neil Entwistle, the British man accused of murdering his wife and infant daughter in their Hopkinton home.

Eben Howard, 33, pleaded not guilty today in Cambridge District Court to one count of assault and battery. Prosecutors allege that at about 9:10 p.m. on Dec. 20, Howard kicked Entwistle in the abdomen. Both men were out of their cells at the time, according to court records. It was not clear why Howard kicked Entwistle.

There is no indication from court records that Entwistle suffered any injuries from the kick. Entwistle's lawyer, Elliot M. Weinstein, declined to comment about the alleged assault or discuss any injuries his client may have sustained. He referred all questions about the incident to the Middlesex Country District Attorney's office, saying he would not contribute to the ongoing publicity surrounding his client.

"I will not comment with anything in connection to Mr. Entwistle's case," Weinstein said.

Entwistle has pleaded not guilty to the January 2006 shooting deaths of his wife and infant daughter. Prosecutors allege that the unemployed electrical engineer flew to his native England after the slayings. Authorities arrested him on a London subway nearly three weeks later.
Middlesex prosecutors theorize that Entwistle had planned a murder-suicide but decided against killing himself. His trial is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1.

Howard, of Marblehead, was being held as a fugitive from justice. He has been accused of murder in North Carolina, according to court records. For the assault and battery charge, Howard was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail.

(AP File Photo/Wendy Maeda)
Prosecutors allege that Neil Entwistle, pictured above at a court hearing last December, was kicked in the stomach by another inmate.

Posted by aryan at 2:12 PM | Comments (0)

Professors outline first Harvard curriculum overhaul in 30 years

By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff

A Harvard College education should focus more on what it means to be a citizen in the 21st century, according to the report issued today by a panel of professors redesigning the curriculum for the first time in three decades.

The task force laid out a vision for general education, which is the portion of an undergraduate's class work that is required but not part of his or her major. It adds up to about a year's worth of work.

Harvard's current curriculum, known as the Core, was designed in the 1970s to emphasize exposing students to the ways in which scholars in different academic disciplines think about the world. It has been criticized for being too cloistered in its Ivory Tower and not relevant enough.

"A liberal arts education is not about going off for four years and studying in a closet -- and then your life starts," said Alison Simmons, co-chair of the task force. "We think a liberal arts education affects the life you'll lead. It'll make you think differently and understand yourself and the world better."

The group had already jettisoned an aspect of their proposal that made waves last fall -- the idea that every student should take a class dealing with religion. Some professors thought it gave too much emphasis to one topic. However, members of the task force said that religion is covered by several categories, including one called "Culture and Belief."

Another big change from the current curriculum that remains in the proposal is a requirement that each student take a course dealing with the United States.

Each student would be required to take one course in each of eight areas. The other six are Societies of the World, Science of Living Systems, Science of the Physical University, Ethical Reasoning, Empirical Reasoning, and Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding, which focuses on cultural expression such as literature, art and music.

Professors will discuss the report in a meeting next week and are likely to vote on it later this spring.

Posted by aryan at 1:44 PM | Comments (0)

Police investigate homicide after body found in Mattapan

By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff

Police are investigating the shooting death of a man in his 20s after his body was found this morning inside Mount Hope Cemetery in Mattapan.

Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for the Boston Police, said the victim suffered a single gunshot wound. Police are treating the death as a homicide, Driscoll said.

Officers discovered the body at about 6:34 a.m. The victim was removed by the medical examiner's office for further investigation.

The identity of the victim was not immediately clear. Investigators plan to use forensic evidence to determine his name.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to called (617) 343-4470 or the CrimeStoppers Hotline at 1-800-494-TIPS.

Posted by aryan at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)

February 6, 2007

Brandeis head complains of cost of having Carter

By James Vaznis, GLOBE STAFF

The president of Brandeis University, Jehuda Reinharz, is complaining that the university has to foot an estimated $95,000 bill for the cost of security and other accommodations for Jimmy Carter’s speech on campus last month.

Carter spoke to a packed gymnasium of more than 1,700 students, faculty, and members of the media in a Brandeis gymnasium Jan. 23 about his controversial book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."

Reinharz, who criticized the event’s cost at a recent faculty meeting, has been at the center of some of the controversy surrounding Carter’s visit. Carter at first declined a faculty member’s invitation to speak at Brandeis because of a suggestion that he would have to debate Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, a critic of Carter’s book.

More than 100 students and faculty were upset that Reinharz did not do more to secure Carter’s visit and signed a petition seeking the visit without subjecting the former president to a debate. The university agreed to host Carter with no strings attached.

But Reinharz’s criticisms, first reported Tuesday in the student newspaper, The Justice, have caused another stir at the predominantly Jewish school.

"I think it’s an after-the-fact attempt to distance himself and the university from Carter and his positions on the Middle East," said Kevin Montgomery, a student organizer of the event.

Dennis Nealon, a Brandeis spokesman, said Reinharz’s "exasperation is based on the sole fact there was no funding for the event." Now, the university has to scramble to find funding, he said.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)

Minorities hope to make more political waves

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Minority leaders, spurred by Deval Patrick’s successful run for governor and increasing voter participation by blacks and Hispanics in recent years, are launching an effort to produce a wave of candidates for political office across the state.

The effort is also being fueled by a study released Tuesday indicating that 10 of the most diverse communities in Eastern Massachusetts have only a few minorities in elected office: 9 percent of 186 elected officials are minorities; 41.3 percent of the population in the 10 communities is nonwhite.

In four of the communities -- Everett, Lynn, Quincy, and Somerville -- there were no minorities elected to office, and three others had only one elected official who was a minority, according to the study. Those communities were Framingham, Malden, and Randolph. The other cities reviewed were Boston, Chelsea, and Cambridge.

The study also suggested that minorities occupied just 15 percent of 550 appointed positions in the 10 communities. Nearly 60 percent of boards and commissions were made up entirely of white members, according to the study, conducted by the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

"This should serve as a wake-up call to communities of color," said Carol Hardy-Fanta, author of the study, "A Benchmark Report on Diversity in State and Local Government."

Leaders of grass-roots organizations, get-out-the-vote efforts, as well as elected officials and other minority leaders hope to mount challenges for mayoral and legislative seats down to positions on the local water board.

To help in that effort, a group of organizations -- including MassVOTE and Suffolk University, and -- will launch a program Wednesday that aims to recruit 50 minorities a year and put them through four months of intensive training on fund-raising for campaigns, collecting signatures to qualify for ballots, and getting voters out on Election Day.

Over the next three years, program leaders hope some 150 graduates will work their way into political positions -- running campaigns, getting appointed to spots on zoning boards and conservation commissions, or running for elected office.

By getting more blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and other minorities in a wide variety of positions, program leaders hope to establish a political network that will make it easier for minority politicians down the road to get a start.

"People are seeing that the way to play is not to stand on the sidelines and scream and moan and complain," said Horace Small, executive director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, an organization that trains community activists. "You’ve got to find your voice. And people found their voice in November. This thing is kind of at a fever pitch."

The program, called Initiative for Diversity in Civic Leadership, will begin training in April and is being funded by a three-year, $1.1 million grant from several Greater Boston foundations, including the Boston Foundation, New Community Fund, and the Herman and Frieda L. Miller Foundation. The program, which is recruiting its first class of 25 members, will be housed at Suffolk University and is being managed by a voting advocacy group.

Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:57 PM | Comments (0)

Lawmakers look to close pension loopholes

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe staff

As a trio of their former colleagues fight for higher pension payouts, lawmakers are pushing back with a series of proposals to stop future state retirees from padding their monthly paychecks.

Lawmakers backing a pension overhaul say that recent high-profile controversies underline the need to keep officials from "gaming" the system.

Three retired lawmakers are seeking higher pension payments from the state, based on a court ruling last year that allowed former Senate president William M. Bulger to include the housing allowance he received when he was president of the University of Massachusetts as part of his pension calculation.

The legislative proposals include capping annual pension payments, preventing employees from earning generous benefits after just three years of full-time employment, and eliminating perks such as free parking or a housing allowance from the benefit calculation.

"I feel that public service is not an area where people are intended in the long run to get rich at the taxpayers’ expense," said state Senator Steven C. Panagiotakos, a Democrat from Lowell who has filed a pension overhaul bill.

The state retirement board is scheduled to vote Feb. 22 on whether former state representatives Marie J. Parente, Susan W. Pope, and Thomas N. George should be allowed to include perks such as parking spaces, office stipends, and travel expenses as part of their income for the purpose of pension calculations. Pensions are based on an employee’s age, years of service, and salary during the three highest-earning years.

Concerned about the implications of the Bulger lawsuit, Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill has been working with Senators Michael W. Morrissey, a Democrat from Quincy, and Robert A. Havern, a Democrat from Arlington, on legislation to narrowly define "compensation" as salary, not fringe benefits. Cahill said officials do not make pension contributions on their perks, as they do on their salaries, so they should not ask the pension system to pay them returns on money it never had a chance to invest.

If the three lawmakers prevail, Cahill said, the state could be faced with a wave of similar claims. And even if the Legislature adopts changes, he acknowledged, officials who earned perks prior to the change could still collect.

"It really opens the door to not only any elected official, but any appointed official who gets any kind of nonsalary compensation," he said. "There are probably hundreds of police chiefs, fire chiefs, mayors -- I mean, anyone that gets a car."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:34 PM | Comments (0)

Bay State students do well on test

By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff

Massachusetts ranks sixth in the nation on the prestigious Advanced Placement exams, according to results from the Class of 2006 released today by the state and the College Board.

About 20 percent of the class scored 3 or better, a college-level performance, on an AP exam during high school. Nationally, 15 percent earned a 3 or higher. The highest score is 5.

Massachusetts trailed New York, Maryland, Utah, Virginia, and California in the rankings. In a report, the College Board praised three Massachusetts schools for high achievement: Roxbury Latin for statistics, Phillips Academy for physics and music theory, and Boston Latin, the only public school, for Italian. Statewide, 28 percent of the class of 2006, or 25,000 students, took an AP exam in high school, slightly above the national average.

Posted by srhee at 4:11 PM | Comments (0)

Couple arraigned in poisoning death of daughter

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

HINGHAM -- A Hull couple was ordered held without bail after pleading not guilty today to charges of murdering their 4-year-old daughter by overdosing her on prescription medicine.

Michael Riley, 34, and Carolyn Riley, 32, sat next to each other in handcuffs and ankle chains crying in Hingham District Court as they heard the charges read against them in the December death of their daughter Rebecca.

Plymouth Assistant District Attorney Frank Middleton Jr. described Rebecca's painful last days. "As her lungs filled with liquid, she would succumb to a slow, painful and horrifying death," Middleton said.

John Darrell, the attorney representing Michael Riley, objected three times as Middleton tried to read a statement of the case, complaining that the graphic details would inflame the potential jury pool for a trial.

After the arraignment, he said his client was devastated by the death of his daughter. "He's crying on my shoulder, and he only met me an hour and a half ago, '' Darrell told reporters.

Michael Bourbeau, an attorney for Carolyn Riley, said the case should also focus on the psychiatrist who prescribed the medication for Rebecca, who prosecutors say was diagnosed at age 2 1/2 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder.

Prosecutors said the child died from an overdose of Clonidine, a drug that is used to treat high blood pressure in adults but is also sometimes used to treat hyperactive symptoms. The medical examiner's office determined the child died from intoxication due to the combined effect of Clonidine, valproic acid, dextronmethorphan, and chlorpheniramine.

As Michael Riley was being led into the courtroom this morning, a reporter asked him if he had killed his daughter, he replied, "No. I loved my daughter."

Posted by srhee at 1:05 PM | Comments (0)

Greenbush line marks a milestone

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

BRAINTREE -- MBTA and state officials drove ceremonial golden spikes this morning to mark the completion of construction on the T's 13th line, the much-debated Greenbush commuter rail line.

Bernard Cohen, the state transportation secretary; Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority; and Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray did the honors. Two T trains met at the piece of track.

Now, the T will start testing trains and training crews. When the trains start running by summer, the 18-mile line will carry about 8,400 riders a day, helping ease traffic on Route 3 and the Southeast Expressway.

Some residents in Hingham and other South Shore communities opposed the project. The T is spending an estimated $18 million on changes designed to mollify opponents. The final price tag is projected at about $508 million.

Posted by srhee at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

Army sergeant mourned in Hyannis

By Megan Tench, Globe Staff

HYANNIS -- More than 100 friends, relatives, and officials gathered today to mourn a Cape Cod soldier whose widow is expecting the couple's first child in April.

Alexander Fuller, a 21-year-old sergeant in the 61st Cavalry Regiment, was killed by a roadside bomb near Baghdad on Jan. 25. He joined the Army in October 2004, just before he was married, and deployed to Iraq a year later, just after his widow, Anastacia, became pregnant.

The memorial Mass at St. Xavier Francis Church lasted more than an hour and ended with the singing of "America the Beautiful." Governor Deval Patrick led the officials who attended.

Fuller's brother, Zack, fondly remembered him. "I can't tell you the number of bad days I had when Al would say, 'Need a hug?' Well, Al I need one now," he said through tears.

Friends and relatives have described him as a skilled boxer who briefly played high school football. He dropped out of high school, but earned his equivalency degree and saw the Army as a way to get ahead.

Posted by srhee at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

Repeat drunk driver slams into Newbury police cruiser

By Globe staff

A repeat drunk driver has been charged with his fourth drunk driving offense after his car collided with a Newbury police cruiser last night, police said today.

The driver, Robert J. Nolan, 46, of Rowley was hospitalized after the collision shortly before 7 p.m. last night near the Olde Newbury Golf Course. Newbury police officer Daniel Cena was transported to Anna Jacques Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The extent of their injuries was not released.

Police said witness statements indicated Nolan's vehicle was traveling southbound in the area of the golf course and crossed into the northbound lane, colliding with Officer Cena's cruiser.

Mr. Nolan was held on $100,000 cash bail and will be arraigned sometime today.

Posted by mbello at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

Man shot on Mattapan street

By John R. Ellement, Globe staff

Boston police are investigating the shooting of a man in his forties who was attacked in a small cul-de-sac in a normally quiet section of Mattapan.

The man was shot around 6 a.m. on Verndale Street, a small cul-de-sac of four single-family homes running off of Mary Knoll Street.

Police have closed Mary Knoll and currently are investigating. The man was rushed to Boston Medical Center with what were believed to be life-threatening injuries.

On Verndale a dozen evidence cones have been placed by police on the street, and one rests on a white van whose engine is running that also has a flat tire.

One Verndale Street resident who asked that her name not be used because the shooting is unsolved said she was awakened by the sound of at least five gunshots.

She said her husband called 911 and that in the 10 years they've been living here, nothing has happened anywhere close to this.

The woman said the victim collapsed at the corner of Verndale and Mary Knoll.

She said she did not know the name of the person who had been shot. Police are currently checking the garage of a single-family cape house with red wood trim at 5 Verndale Street.

Posted by mbello at 9:04 AM | Comments (0)

February 5, 2007

Parents charged in daughter's death

By David Abel, GLOBE STAFF

The parents of a 4-year-old girl from Hull were arrested Monday on murder charges after investigators concluded they poisoned their daughter, prosecutors said.

Michael Riley, 34, and his wife, Carolyn, 32, were taken into custody at his mother’s house in Weymouth in the death of their daughter Rebecca in December, said officials in the Plymouth district attorney’s office.

Just after 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 13, Hull police responded to a call for an unresponsive girl at the family’s home on Lynn Avenue, prosecutors said. They found Rebecca dead on her parents’ bedroom floor.
An investigation by State Police and Hull police found the girl was being prescribed the drugs Clonidine for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Valproic acid and Seroquel for bipolar disorder. A psychiatrist had diagnosed her with both disorders at age 2, prosecutors said.

The medical examiner’s office determined the cause of the girl’s death as "intoxication due to the combined effects" of the drugs Clonidine, Valproic acid (Depakote), Dextromethorphan, and Chlorpheniramine, the district attorney’s office said in a statement.

"This occurred as a result of the intentional overdose of Rebecca with Clonidine," the statement said. "The manner of death was determined to be homicide."

Clonidine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat high blood pressure, but is also sometimes used to treat hyperactive symptoms.

The mothers of both Michael and Carolyn Riley said the couple is innocent.

Valerie Berio, Carolyn Riley’s mother, called the homicide charges "ludicrous."

"She was their treasure, their angel," Berio said in a telephone interview. "They loved her more than life itself. They didn’t consciously give her anything to make her go to sleep and not wake up."

She said Rebecca had been described as hyperactive in school, but had been recently seen as "a little too quiet" by school administrators.
Berio said the couple grew up in Weymouth, knew each other since they were young, and married in 1994. She said that Michael Riley is unemployed and claims disability. "Michael is the sweetest kid in the world. They would have never wanted to hurt their daughter," Berio said. "I love him like he’s my own kid."

Kathleen Riley, Michael’s mother, described the couple as great parents.

"I can’t believe this is happening," she said in a telephone interview. "It’s a terrible disgrace. I have no idea how anyone could say this is deliberate. I’m shocked. They loved their children."

She said the couple had a miscarriage six years ago, and had been living apart for the last year, though they were in the home together the morning Rebecca died.

"He’s been a wonderful father," Riley said. "All the charges against them are false. He cried at night because he had to live with me for the past year. He’s been under such pressure. The poor kid. I don’t know how he’s going to handle this. They just wanted to be together."

Denise Monteiro, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social Services, said the department "found evidence for neglect" of Rebecca.

On Dec. 13, the agency removed the couple’s other children, a 6-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, from the home, Monteiro said. They remain in foster homes.

In 2005, DSS began investigating allegations that Michael Riley sexually abused his wife’s 13-year-old daughter from another relationship, Monteiro and relatives said. The girl had been adopted to another home in 2002.

At the same time, DSS also launched an investigation into whether Carolyn Riley had neglected her children, Monteiro said.

"We supported the allegations of abuse, and we forwarded that report to the Norfolk district attorney’s office," she said. "We also supported the allegations of neglect against the mother."

The status of those allegations was unclear last night.

In June 2005, DSS ordered Michael Riley out of the home, Monteiro said. He was only allowed to see the children under supervision by a DSS official, she said.

"We’re investigating why Michael Riley was at the home without supervision," when police found Rebecca dead, Monteiro said last night.

The Rileys are to be arraigned in Hingham District Court today on charges of first-degree murder, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office said. District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz and Hull Police Chief Richard Billings would not comment until after the arraignment.

David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)

Homeless advocate sues over firing

By Jenna Russell, Globe Staff

SANDWICH -- For more than a decade, Livia Munck Davis fought for her dream of a farm on Cape Cod where once-homeless men and women would live and work together. Through relentless controversy, she steered a steady course for the groundbreaking project known as Dana’s Fields, convinced that one day it would become a reality.

Instead, Davis says, her dream was dismantled. In a lawsuit filed Monday in Barnstable Superior Court, she asserts that she was unjustly fired by her longtime employer, the nonprofit Housing Assistance Corporation, the project’s developer, because she opposed its plans to dramatically scale back the number of homeless people to be served by the new program.

Slated for 47 acres of former farmland in Sandwich, town officials approved the Dana’s Fields development two weeks ago after years of battle between its proponents and some nearby homeowners. Neighbors argued that housing for the homeless would drive up crime rates and depress property values. In time, their opposition forced project leaders to retreat from the model Davis first championed.

Instead of having dormitory-style beds and jobs for as many as 60 homeless Cape residents, Dana’s Fields will contain a range of reduced-rent apartments, mostly reserved for Sandwich residents and employees. Apartments will be rented for roughly $350 to $750 per month, to tenants who earn between 30 and 70 percent of the area’s median income, officials said. Ten rooms will be set aside for homeless people.

With the shift in mission, Davis argues in her lawsuit, Housing Assistance Corporation violated the trust of private donors who supported the original concept, as well as the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which helped the agency buy the land in Sandwich with a $250,000 grant.

A spokeswoman for the department said officials are reviewing the changes in the project. "They may have to pay the money back if the project doesn’t meet the grant requirements," said the spokeswoman, Kristine Foye.

The director of Housing Assistance Corporation, Rick Presbrey, said he sees no reason why the funding would be lost. The redesign was a practical necessity because of neighborhood opposition, he said, and will not stop the development from fulfilling its mission of helping the homeless.

"We all like to be idealistic, but at the end of the day, sometimes you have to be practical," said Presbrey.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)

Professor strikes for tenure

By April Simpson, GLOBE STAFF

As some 30 supportive students and colleagues gathered around him, a MIT professor began a hunger strike Monday outside the offices of university leaders, saying racism was behind the school’s decision to deny him tenure.

For nearly two years, James L. Sherley, a stem cell scientist, has asked senior administration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to overturn his department’s head’s decision not to put him forward for tenure. The provost subsequently said the decision would stand.

Sherley, who is African-American, says he will stand outside the administrators’ offices daily between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. until they grant him tenure, censure the provost, and initiate a process for addressing racism at the school. He said he would eat no solid food during his hunger strike, and would subsist on bottled water and vitamin supplements.

"One of the things we have to recognize in America is that when we are all free, we are all better off," said Sherley, 49.

Less than half of MIT’s junior faculty members are granted tenure. After Sherley was initially denied, his case was examined three times before the university established that neither racial discrimination nor conflict of interest affected the decision. Twenty-one of Sherley’s colleagues issued a statement Monday saying that the professor was treated fairly in tenure review.

"The tradition here is that we help the faculty members move on to their next opportunity because we hire people who are very good, and we deny tenure to people who are very good," said Chancellor Phillip L. Clay. "In this case, we’re obviously deeply concerned because a hunger strike is extremely unusual."

Sherley has earned several distinctions, such as a $2.5 million award for innovative research from the National Institutes of Health, and maintains that he deserves tenure for his noted leadership and research. Former students described Sherley as a devoted professor who took a sincere interest in their academic development.

Noam Chomsky and 10 other MIT professors are circulating a letter that seeks further investigation into the process that denied Sherley tenure. The letter states that a head of Sherley’s department is married to a senior faculty member whose relationship with Sherley has been "openly contentious." That division head should have recused himself from deciding Sherley’s case rather than soliciting an internal letter from his wife to include in Sherley’s tenure file, the letter said.

"We checked to see whether that influenced the decision and we are confident that it did not," Clay said.

Of 740 tenured faculty members at MIT, 27 are African-American or Hispanic. Three minority faculty members have earned tenure since Sherley was denied, said an MIT spokesperson.

Last week, the provost announced a study on the impact of race on the hiring, advancement and experience of minority faculty.

James H. Williams, who in 1991 protested the lack of black faculty members and "neo-colonial" treatment of black students with a weekly fast outside the president’s office, said he was ashamed of the new initiative.

"They’re proposing a study rather than doing their duty," Williams, a chaired professor of engineering.

Clay said the initiative is not an academic study, but a continuing effort on how to best broaden diversity.

"We want to understand what we do well and what we need to do better," Clay said.

April Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com

Posted by gwitherspoon at 9:59 PM | Comments (0)

Reilinger to quit as the head of superintendent search committee

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

The chairwoman of the Boston School Committee, under fire for the abrupt withdrawal of Manuel J. Rivera as Boston's superintendent, today said she would step aside as head of the committee that would lead a new hunt for a schools chief.

Elizabeth Reilinger, who had co-chaired the nine-month secret process that led to the hiring of Rivera, sent her decision to Mayor Thomas M. Menino in a letter.

Rivera, superintendent of Rochester, N.Y., schools, was supposed to start in Boston in July, but accepted a job last week as deputy secretary of education in New York state. His confidantes have told the Globe that part of the reason he decided not to come to Boston was because of the strong role Reilinger played in school operations, her controlling leadership style and his trouble finalizing a contract. A few city councilors had asked Reilinger to step down as head of the search committee.

"I believe that at this time, it is critical that the focus remain on finding and recruiting a top notch leader for the Boston Public Schools and do not want, under any circumstances, to be perceived as a distraction to making this happen," Reilinger wrote to Menino. "Therefore, while I am more than delighted to work in any way you deem useful to bring a new Superintendent to Boston, I believe strongly that it is in everyone’s best interest that I not chair the Search Committee."

Reilinger will remain head of the School Committee, according to school system and city hall officials. She will continue to serve on the search committee, said Menino's spokeswoman.

"The mayor has always been very proud of Liz' work on the School Committee and on the search team," said Dot Joyce, Menino's spokeswoman. "He looks forward to working with her as chairperson of the School Committee. He respects her very much."

Menino appointed Reilinger to the School Committee in 1994. She has led the seven-member committee for nine years and is not paid for her work. Reilinger, along with Cleve Killingsworth, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield, co-chaired the 12-member committee formed in December 2005 to find a new schools chief.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 7:05 PM | Comments (0)

Two year old Kingston boy found outdoors in bitter cold

By Megan Tench, Globe staff

A two-year-old who wandered out of his Kingston home this morning, into the bitter cold with bare feet and only a light jacket, was flown to Boston Medical Center and is expected to fully recover, police officials said.

The boy, whose name was not released by police, slipped through a sliding glass door at his home about 10:45 a.m. and into the region's arctic 17 degree weather with wind chills 2 below zero.

He wandered out with his dog, a yellow Labrador Retriever, police said in a statement. After police were called, the father found the dog who led him directly to his son.

The boy, who was alert and conscious, was laying on the ground in a fetal position.

Posted by mbello at 6:08 PM | Comments (0)

Maynard Superintendent on paid leave amid allegations he knew about Magno

By Melissa Beecher
Globe Correspondent

Maynard Superintendent Mark Masterson has been placed on paid administrative leave amidst allegations that he knew -- 16 months before child rape charges were filed against former teacher Joseph Magno -- a teacher had molested another student.

Former Maynard High student Brian Dunnigan said he called Masterson in the summer of 2004 with news that a friend of his had been molested in the 1970s. Dunnigan said he has phone records showing a 40-minute-long conversation with Masterson where he said his friend was molested on a trip to Lake Winnipesaukee in 1974.

Masterson provided the Globe with a telephone log of that conversation and admitted to speaking with Dunnigan, but denied Magno was named as the perpetrator.

“I would not cover up for Joe Magno, or for anyone,” said Masterson in a telephone interview today. “These [the Maynard School Committee] are good people. I just wish they sat down with me first, and let me provide them with some facts before taking this action.”

Posted by mbrelis at 4:17 PM | Comments (0)

Ministers asks community to unite at shooting victim's funeral

By Charles A. Radin
Globe Staff

Boston ministers and family members of a youth slain in Dorchester today urged the city's black community to embrace and support its young men.

The funeral of Warren Daniel Hairston, who was found dead on Jan. 27 from a gunshot to his head, drew about 250 mourners to Jubilee Christian Church on Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan. Hairston's family said he was friendly with gang-involved youth but was trying to pull away from the rough life of the streets.

The city's most recent homicide victim, Hairston was the third person slain this year, compared with four at this time last year. Those who eulogized him warned that there would be many more if the community did not do a better job of educating and influencing its young men.

``This is not a City Hall problem, this is not a Boston police problem,'' Leonard M. Lee, an uncle who helped raise Hairston, declared to rising applause. ``It is our problem.... I am not calling Mayor Menino, I am not calling the police commissioner, I am calling you.''

Posted by mdaniel at 3:57 PM

Request for records denied in Lincoln-Sudbury murder

By Maria Cramer
Globe Staff

FRAMINGHAM - A Framingham District Court judge today denied a news organization's request to make public items investigators confiscated in connection with a murder case against a Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School student.

GateHouse Media, Inc., owner of the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, had asked the court to squash a motion to impound the search warrant.

But in his ruling, Justice Paul J. Healy Jr. said releasing documents related to the investigation of 16-year-old John Odgren would compromise the two-week old investigation. Odgren is accused of fatally stabbing James Alenson, 15, inside the school.

"Leads could be altered or destroyed if certain individuals learned of the impounded information, and sources could dry up," Healy wrote. "At this time, it is believed that a blanket impoundment order is necessary to protect the rights of both the defendant and the Commonwealth and that there is no reasonable alternative."

Representatives of GateHouse Media could not immediately be reached for comment.

Posted by mdaniel at 3:11 PM

Man sentenced to life in prison for slaying of witness

By John R. Ellement, Globe staff

Mercedes Serret's life is without music anymore.

"When I go someplace and there is music playing I cry, because it reminds me of him," Serret said through a Spanish language interpreter today.

Mercedes was in Suffolk Superior Court giving a victim impact statement on behalf of her son Edward who was murdered in Boston on Oct 6, 2004.

Helder Barbosa was convicted of first degree murder on Friday for shooting Edward Serret to death. He was also convicted of nearly killing a friend of Serret's who was with him at the time.

According to Suffolk district attorney Daniel F Conley's office, Barbosa murdered Serret and shot the other man to silence them because they had witnessed Barbosa commit another shooting two weeks earlier.

In the victim impact statement prepared by Mercedes Serret she said, "The death of my son affected me deeply. I thought I was going to lose my mind because my son's death left a big void in my heart. I have never been the same since."

The mother said that she never listens to music anymore because the sound reminds her of her son.

Superior Court Judge Margaret Hinkle sentenced Barbosa to the mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for a first degree murder conviction.

She also sentenced him to additional prison time that is technically to be served after the murder sentence because Barbosa victimized two people

Serrett said she is relieved that Barbosa has been convicted, "I wanted the heavy hand of the law to fall down on him because a murderer like him should not be out on the street killing anymore people," she said. "He killed my son as if my son was an animal."

Barbosa's conviction will automatically be reviewed by the Supreme Judicial Court.

Mercedes Serret's life is without music anymore.

"When I go someplace and there is music playing I cry, because it reminds me of him," Serret said through a Spanish language interpreter today.

Mercedes was in Suffolk Superior Court giving a victim impact statement on behalf of her son Edward who was murdered in Boston on Oct 6, 2004.

Posted by mbello at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)

Turner Broadcasting agrees to pay $2 million

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

Attorney General Martha Coakley announced this morning that Turner Broadcasting System will pay $2 million in restitution and other compensation for last week's bomb scares that paralyzed parts of the Boston region.

The settlement for the guerrilla marketing campaign that went wrong includes $1 million to reimburse cities for their out-of-pocket expenses for the police response. It also includes about $1 million in "goodwill funds" to be divided among the state, the MBTA, the US Coast Guard, Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville for homeland security awareness and emergency preparedness.

The deal frees Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of the Cartoon Network, and the New York marketing company the Cartoon Network hired, Interference Inc., of any criminal or civil liability for the episode.

At a press conference, Coakley said the $2 million was more than she believed the state would have obtained had it gone to court.

Turner Broadcasting and Interference Inc. also issued a statement accepting responsibility and acknowledging that authorities responded appropriately to the publicity campaign gone awry.

"We understand that in today's post-September 11 environment, it was reasonable and appropriate for citizens and law enforcement officials to take any perceived threat by our light boards very seriously and to respond as they did," the statement says.

Coakley and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said the settlement and statement show that police did not overreact.

"So I just have to say the folks who second-guessed us because we did go out there and do our work, shame on them, because it's important that we did it," Menino said.

The battery-powered, lighted electronic boards, depicting a cartoon character making an obscene gesture, promoted the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" show. Nearly 40 of the signs were installed around Boston, including on bridges and overpasses. Bomb squads responded and police shut down highways, subway lines, and the Charles River last Wednesday when people who spotted the signs reported suspicious devices.

Two area men hired by Interference, Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, each face a felony charge of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

Coakley said that prosecutors have started talking to lawyers for the men about a possible resolution of the criminal charges before trial.

Posted by srhee at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

Weymouth fire remains under investigation

Weymouth -- Quincy firefighters climb away from the flames shooting from the roof of 670 Main Street on Sunday night. One firefighter was injured in the two-alarm blaze when his leg fell through a hole in the burning roof. Globe Staff Photo - Justine Hunt

By Mac Daniel
Globe Staff

A two-alarm fire at a home on Main Street in Weymouth caused extensive damage and remains under investigation today as police and fire departments survey the scene.

Occupants of the two-family home got out safely after someone knocked on their doors when the fire first started.

Firefighters were called at 8 p.m. and were on the scene until 1:15 a.m. as high-winds fanned the flames. One Quincy firefighter suffered minor injuries, but no one else was hurt, said Weymouth Deputy Chief John Haslan.

Posted by mdaniel at 10:07 AM

February 3, 2007

Rev. Drinan remembered as unique politician

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

The Rev. Robert F. Drinan, a former congressman from Massachusetts, was eulogized today as a politican who unabashedly fused his religious beliefs to a liberal political agenda.

Hundreds of friends, relatives and former students attended a memorial Mass for Drinan at Boston College. Speakers shared memories of his sharp wit, warmth, and his unique approach to politics.

"This funny, open, remarkable human being dedicated an entire life to the central cause of exemplifying what a moral approach to politics truly means," said U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, who delivered one of three eulogies.

Prominent mourners included U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, Gov. Deval Patrick, U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey, and former Massachusetts Senate President William M. Bulger.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:35 PM | Comments (0)

Update: victims identified in Dartmouth plane crash

Globe Staff

A prominent Pennsylvania lawyer and his wife were among those killed in last night's small plane crash in Dartmouth.

Peter J. Karoly, 53, of Bethlehem and his wife, Dr. Lauren Angstadt, 54, died, along with Michael Milot of Germansville, Pa. according to a source familiar with the investigation.

The trio were killed when the single-engine corporate airplane they were riding in attempted to land at New Bedford Regional Airport in rain and fog.

The plane went down in a wooded grove around 7:45 p.m. as the pilot tried to make an instruments-only landing, a technique used in bad weather, authorities said. Runway lights that are a component of the instrument landing system were not operating at the time.

The plane missed its first approach to the runway and circled the airport to attempt a second landing, authorities said. The aircraft then crashed in an area west of the airport just over the Dartmouth line.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:11 PM | Comments (0)

Investigators on scene at Dartmouth plane crash

Globe Staff

Federal investigators are in Dartmouth today, searching for clues to what caused a small plane crash that killed three people.

A single-engine corporate airplane attempting to land at New Bedford Regional Airport last night in rain and fog plummeted into a wooded grove, authorities said.

The plane went down around 7:45 p.m. as the pilot tried to make an instruments-only landing, a technique used in bad weather, authorities said. Runway lights that are a component of the instrument landing system were not operating at the time.

The plane missed its first approach to the runway and circled the airport to attempt a second landing, authorities said. The aircraft then crashed in an area west of the airport just over the Dartmouth line.

Lang said the lights were not operating because his administration was in the midst of a plan to cut away heavy vegetation that had been obscuring the lights for years. The FAA had turned the lights off in August because they could not be seen and were useless.

Lang said today he was told by FAA officials that having partially obscured lights on would be more dangerous than having them off. He said other runway lights that were not part of the instrument landing system were on.

The plane was a Socata TBM 700 registered to PK Leasing LLC in Allentown, Pa. Officials have not identified the three victims, but said they were all from out of state.

A news conference was scheduled for this afternoon.

Posted by mfinucane at 1:31 PM | Comments (0)

Lost fishermen remembered at New Bedford funeral

By Brian Ballou, Globe Staff

About 500 people turned out this morning at a New Bedford church to pay their respects to a fisherman who died when his boat sank off the coast of Nantucket.

Antonio Barroquiero is the only one of four men aboard the New Bedford-based Lady of Grace whose body has been recovered. He was the skipper of the 75-foot dragger, which was reported missing last Saturday.

Barroquiero's coffin was draped in a flowing white cloth as it was wheeled into Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church.

The three other fishermen are presumed dead and their family members attended Barroquiero's funeral to pay their condolences and as a sign of solidarity among fishermen, who often risk their lives in treacherous waters.

"Water has the power to give life, and it also has the power to take life," said pastor Jack Oliveira, addressing the crowd. "I sprinkled his casket with water, and as I did it, I thought to myself that it didn't seem right, because it was water that took his life."

Oliveira added, "What's important to remember is that these young men knew the dangers of the water, but they did it to provide for their families - that's a symbol of love."

Oliveira acknowledged the families of the other fishermen in attendance, then told mourners to pray for the families of the crew of the Lady of Luck, a Newburyport-based fishing vessel that went missing last week.

Posted by mfinucane at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

February 2, 2007

Date rape drug hospitalizes Saugus HS student

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

A Saugus High School junior was recuperating today after ingesting gamma hydroxy butyrate, commonly known as the date rape drug, and collapsing in class on Wednesday, according to a school official.

Saugus Police said a 17-year-old classmate, David Warnock, of Saugus, was later arrested by and charged with several drug offenses and attempted poisoning.

After the girl collapsed, she was rushed to a local hospital and was reported to be doing fine today, Saugus Schools Superintendent Keith Manville said. Warnock was being disciplined, he said, adding that he did not know if other students were involved in the incident.

"With this particular drug, it's a first," Manville said, adding that school officials occasionally ask drug-sniffing dogs to search lockers at the school. "We try to be as vigilant as we can about drugs in all our schools."

Warnock was arrested after another student told teachers he was involved in the poisoning.

Posted by aryan at 6:13 PM | Comments (0)

Coast Guard suspends search for Newburyport fishing boat

(Coast Guard photo)

Lady Luck disappeared early Thursday morning 12 miles off the coast of Maine, just south of Portland.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Two fishermen are presumed dead after the Coast Guard suspended the search tonight for a Newburyport-based boat that disappeared early Thursday 12 miles off the Cape Elizabeth in Maine.

After 27 separate searches that covered 8,140 square miles, the Coast Guard stopped actively looking for the 52-foot Lady Luck at 5:34 p.m. The boat's captain, Sean Cone, 24, of North Andover, and crewman, Dan Miller, 21, of North Hampton N.H., had been heading to Gloucester and fishing for cod, haddock, and flounder.

"To suspend a search is one of the toughest decisions to make," said Coast Guard Rear Admiral Tim Sullivan in a statement. "We grieve with the families of the Lady Luck's crew and with New England's fishing community. This second tragic loss in so short a time renews our commitment to work with the fishing community and our federal and state partners to identify and remove the hazards that imperil our fishermen."

A New Bedford fishing vessel with a four-man crew sank last weekend. The Lady of Grace, a 75-foot dragger, went down about 12 miles north of Nantucket.

At 2 a.m. Thursday morning, the Coast Guard received a distress call from the Lady Luck's emergency beacon from a location 12 miles off Cape Elizabeth, just south of Portland. Investigators found an oil slick and debris floating near where it received the distress call. It could not be determined if the wreckage belonged to the Lady Luck.

Pat Cone, the captain's father, has said that the Lady Luck left Portland at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in search of cod, haddock, and flounder. The pair was expected to return to Gloucester today. Sean Cone had recently spent more than $100,000 fixing up the boat since he bought it three years ago, his father said.

The weather when the boat went missing was not particularly hazardous, with winds blowing at about 10 knots and four-foot waves.

This weekend, the conditions at sea are expected to deteriorate. By Saturday, 40-knot winds are forecast to push waves up to 17-feet high.

Posted by aryan at 6:02 PM | Comments (0)

AG: Deal close to resolve restitution in ad hoax

By Globe Staff

State Attorney General Martha Coakley said late this afternoon that her office was close to completing a deal that would finalize negotiations for restitution to cover the cost of a series of bomb scares this week ignited by an unorthodox advertising campaign that involved illuminated cartoon characters.

"At this time, we believe we are close to reaching finality in a resolution of this matter," Coakley said in a statement issued by her office.

A meeting has been scheduled for Monday afternoon, Coakley said, "And we hope to finalize amounts and arrangements."

The negotiations involve both Turner Broadcasting and Interference Inc., the guerilla advertising firm that paid two local men $300 apiece to place the flashing characters on bridges, underpasses, and other public places throughout Boston. The advertising blitz was promoting "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," an animated television show featured on the Cartoon Network, which is owned by Turner Broadcasting.

"Obviously, there are a number of parties involved in these negotiations, all of whom must meet agreement on any settlement," Coakley said.

The attorney general said her office has also begun talks with lawyers for Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, who pleaded not guilty to felonies on Thursday in Boston Municipal Court.

"We have also begun discussions with the attorneys for the two defendants who were arraigned yesterday in connection with the placement of the hoax devices regarding a resolution to the criminal charges," Coakley said.

Posted by aryan at 5:29 PM | Comments (0)

NB high school custodian dies shoveling snow

By Dan Muse, Globe Correspondent

A custodian at New Bedford High School died today after suffering a stroke while shoveling snow, police said.

Raymond Medeiros, 57, of New Bedford, was clearing the sidewalks near the school's auditorium at about 11:00 a.m. when he collapsed, according to according Superintendent of Schools Michael Longo.

The school's resource officers performed CPR and a nurse used a defibrillator on Medeiros before EMTs transported him to St. Luke's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Longo said Medeiros had been employed at the school for seven years. The incident occurred after class had begun, Longo said, and no students were in the area when the custodian collapsed.

New Bedford and much of southeastern Massachusetts received nearly four inches of snow this morning.

Posted by aryan at 5:06 PM | Comments (0)

Guerrilla marketing company apologizes, hires PR firm

By Michael Levenson and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The New York guerrilla marketing firm that spearheaded the advertising campaign that spawned a wave of bomb scares this week broke its silence today -- and enlisted the help a high powered public relations specialist named Ken Sunshine Consultants.

Company officials have repeatedly declined to discuss the marketing ploy despite claims that they knew for several hours that their battery-powered cartoon characters had police in Boston scurrying to bridges, underpasses, and other public places to investigate reports of bombs.

"We at Interference, Inc. regret that our efforts on behalf of our client contributed to the disruption in Boston and certainly apologize to anyone who endured any hardship as a result," says a note posted on a white screen on the company's homepage. "Nothing undertaken by our firm was in any way intended to cause anxiety, fear or discomfort."

Interference was hired to promote "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," an animated television show featured on the Cartoon Network, which is owned by Turner Broadcasting. Two local men have been charged with felonies who Interference paid $300 apiece to hang 40 of the illuminated cartoon characters in high traffic, trendy areas in the Boston. Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, both pleaded not guilty Thursday in Boston Municipal Court.

According to an e-mail from Berdovsky provided to the Globe, an executive at Interference told him to remain silent while police shutdown highways, subway lines, and part of the Charles River.

Ken Sunshine Consultants has a long list of celebrity clients that includes Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin, and Barbra Streisand. Ken Sunshine officials declined today to discuss the case in detail.

Posted by aryan at 4:51 PM | Comments (0)

Local humanitarian group to deliver aid to Cuba

Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent

A local humanitarian group is set to leave on Saturday to deliver $15,000 worth of books, reading aids, and other resources to Cuban communities and schools.

This is the seventh annual trip for the organization Americans and Cubans Building Community through Exchanges Support and Outreach.

The eight-member delegation, led by State Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, Oswald Mondejar of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and Donna Perry of Massachusetts General Hospital, will spend six days visiting libraries and schools. The group receives donations from Boston-area businesses, organizations, and residents.

Posted by aryan at 2:39 PM | Comments (0)

Court documents: Drug bust nabs 100 lbs pot, 85,000 ecstasy tabs

By Shelley Murphy and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A federal grand jury indicted 23 suspects from Dorchester and Quincy on a host of drug charges after a 15-month investigation dubbed "Operation Polar Express" that investigators allege netted 100 pounds of marijuana and 85,000 tablets of ecstasy smuggled primarily from Canada.

Documents filed in federal court describe a wide ranging probe led by the Drug Enforcement Administration that involved undercover officers; had agents digging through the trash of two homes in Dorchester and Quincy; and included long-term electronic surveillance of subjects who are accused of speaking in code to camouflage discussions about guns and drugs. According to the documents, the suspects were smuggling drugs funneled through Buffalo, N.Y.

U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan has scheduled a press conference today with other law enforcement officials to discuss the case.

The court documents identified the ring leaders of the alleged smuggling network as Antwon Trinh and Tiem Trinh, who live in a three-story white house on Bloomfield Street in Dorchester. The other house that officials allege was a focal point of the smuggling ring is on Newport Avenue in Quincy.

Posted by aryan at 1:42 PM | Comments (0)

Student's computers a focus in probe of slain Lincoln-Sudbury student

By Patricia Wen, Globe Staff

The prosecutor in the murder case against a Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School student suggested today that the teenager's computers have become one focus of their investigation and evidence is being gathered "worldwide."

The comments came during a hearing today in Framingham District Court in which attorneys for GateHouse Media -- owner of the MetroWest Daily News -- argued that the search warrants issued in this case should be made public. Middlesex County assistant district attorney, Daniel Bennett, argued the warrants should remain impounded because they reveal much about the investigation's direction and could compromise evidence.

Bennett said his investigation could "center on computer information," and disclosure about the specifics of that could give people reasons to destroy or alter evidence.

"We're attempting to gather evidence worldwide," he said.

District Court Judge Paul Healy said he would review the issue and decide Monday afternoon.

After the hearing, Odgren's defense attorney, Jonathan Shapiro, said that Odgren's computers and laptops have been seized by police. Shapiro joined the prosecution in arguing against the release of the search warrants.

Odgren is accused of first-degree murder in the death of freshman James Alenson on Jan. 19th. Odgren, who apparently barely knew Alenson, if at all, is charged with killing him with a knife in the bathroom before the start of school that day. Prosecutors said Odgren, covered with blood after the stabbing, announced to school officials, "I did it! I did it!"

Criminal defense attorneys not involved in the case say the state's references to a "worldwide" investigation suggest that the teenager may have communicated with international web sites, perhaps ones specializing in weapons, or sent e-mail messages about his intentions on the morning of Sept. 19th.

To win a first-degree murder conviction in this case, prosecutors have to prove that Odgren had a plan to kill Alenson that day.

Posted by aryan at 1:10 PM | Comments (0)

CO fumes evacuate restaurant, apartments in Waltham

By John R. Ellement and Megan Tench, Globe Staff

A problem in the kitchen of an Indian restaurant on Moody Street in Waltham pumped a lethal amount of carbon monoxide into the eatery and forced the evacuation of the apartments upstairs, according to fire officials.

No one was injured, said a Waltham fire official.

The Jewel of India restaurant is located on the 300 block of Moody Street.

Posted by aryan at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)

Man pleads not guilty to setting homes ablaze, assaulting firefighters

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Prosecutors charged a Newbury man today with setting two homes ablaze and then attacking the firefighters who rushed to his Plum Island neighborhood to extinguish the flames.

Jackie Wayne Hutson, 47, pleaded not guilty in Newburyport District Court to one count of burning a dwelling, one count of burning a building, two counts of causing injury to a firefighter, and other charges. He was ordered held by Judge Peter Doyle pending a dangerousness hearing, according to a spokeswoman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office.

Hutson is accused of lighting a fire in the corner of the basement of 12 Old Point Road, where he lived. State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan also alleged that Hutson set a fire next door near a wood stove on the first floor of 10 Old Point Road, which was unoccupied. The fires displaced three people, including Hutson, and caused an estimated $600,000 in damage.

When firefighters and police arrived on the scene, Hutson was standing outside the burning single family home and "made numerous attempts to impede arriving firefighters from performing their duties" which included attacking them, police said. During Hutson's arrest, one police officer suffered a sprained wrist, police said.

When firefighters were battling flames inside 10 Old Point Road, two of the men fell through the floor. Lieutenant Eric Hanson broke his ankle, and Lieutenant David Foley suffered a minor hip injury. Both firefighters were treated and released at Anna Jacques Hospital, police said.

Old Point Road -- the main street into Plum Island for some residents of Newbury and Newburyport -- was shut down for several hours, forcing officials to set up shuttle service so residents could at least get back into their homes.

Hutson was also charged with disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer, and injuring a firefighter.

Posted by aryan at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

Newburyport fishing boat still missing

(Coast Guard photo)

Lady Luck disappeared early Thursday morning 12 miles off the coast of Maine, just south of Portland.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A Newburyport-based fishing boat with two crew members aboard is still missing this morning despite an intense all-night search by the Coast Guard of almost 5,400 square miles of ocean off Cape Elizabeth in Maine.

While a two Coast Guard cutters, a jet and a helicopter are still hunting for the 52-foot Lady Luck, weather conditions at sea are expected to begin deteriorating today for what is predicted to be a turbulent weekend with 15-foot waves. [To view an animated map of the Coast Guard’s 23 separate searches by plane and helicopter, click here.]

The Coast Guard received a distress call from the ship's emergency beacon at about 2 a.m. on Thursday from a location 12 miles off Cape Elizabeth, just south of Portland. Investigators found an oil slick and debris floating near where it received the distress call. It could not be determined if the wreckage belonged to the Lady Luck.

The boat had been heading to Gloucester and carrying its captain, Sean Cone, 24, from North Andover, and Dan Miller, 21, a crewman from North Hampton, N.H.

"Very little changed over night," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Luke Pinneo. "We are continuing to search this morning, but we haven’t had any sightings."

Pat Cone, Sean's father, said the Lady Luck left Portland at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in search of cod, haddock, and flounder. The pair was expected to return to Gloucester today. Sean Cone had recently spent more than $100,000 fixing up the boat since he bought it three years ago, his father said.

The weather when the boat went missing was not particularly hazardous, with winds blowing at about 10 knots and four-foot waves.

"For this time of year, that's fairly mild," Pinneo said.

Waves are predicted to increase today to six-feet. By Saturday, 40-knot winds are forecast to push waves up to 15-feet high, Pinneo said.

A New Bedford fishing vessel with a four-man crew sank last weekend.
The Lady of Grace, a 75-foot dragger, went down about 12 miles north of Nantucket.

The Coast Guard found that boat's emergency beacon lodged between the deck and the starboard bulwark. Coast Guard officials said they never received an emergency signal.

They identified the Lady of Grace crew as Rogerio Ventura, 54; Mario Farinhas, 62; John Da Silva, 50; and Antonio Barroqueiro, 50. Barroqueiro's body has been recovered.

Posted by aryan at 9:45 AM | Comments (0)

February 1, 2007

State: Many students fail to graduate on time

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Nearly 40 percent of the state’s urban high school students do not graduate within four years, according to state data released Thursday. More than one-fifth have dropped out, but many others have stayed in school in hopes of graduating in five or six years.

In its first look at what happens to students after four years, the state found that 12 percent of urban high school students from the class of 2006 returned to school for a fifth year. In addition, 1.5 percent got a GED, and 2.2 percent successfully completed coursework but did not pass the MCAS, a graduation requirement.

And, 0.3 percent, the smallest proportion of the 22,242 students who should have graduated from urban high schools last spring, were expelled or ended up in jail.

"This is a huge problem in America, and we’re sleeping through it," Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said of the low graduation rates in city high schools during a news conference in Boston. "You have to understand the challenges our urban areas face."

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:50 PM | Comments (0)

Another fishing boat lost, two feared dead

By David Abel and Kay Lazar, Globe Staff

Two young fishermen were feared dead Thursday after their 52-foot vessel sent a distress signal and disappeared before dawn off the coast of Maine, Coast Guard officials said.

An emergency beacon on the Newburyport-based Lady Luck, the second fishing boat to vanish in the past week, sent an electronic signal shortly after 2 a.m. from about 12 miles off Cape Elizabeth, officials said.

A Coast Guard helicopter later spotted debris and an oil sheen, Coast Guard Petty Officer Etta Smith said. Coast Guard ships, helicopters, and fishing vessels in the area searched more than 1,800 square miles Thursday, she said.

Smith identified the missing fishermen as Sean Cone, 24, the captain, from North Andover, and Dan Miller, 21, a crewman from North Hampton, N.H.

Pat Cone, Sean’s father, Thursday said the Lady Luck left Portland at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in search of cod, haddock, and flounder. They expected to return to Gloucester on Friday.

"I talked to him at 8 p.m., and he said everything was fine," his father said. "He said it was a little sloppy out, but he didn’t appear concerned at all."

Cone described his son as "absolutely safety conscious."

He planned to get married in June.

Glenn Miller, Dan’s father, said his son had just had a baby boy in September. He said his son was relatively new to fishing and had been working on the Lady Luck for about a year and a half.

"He loved the ocean," said Miller, who has two other sons. "He just really enjoyed fishing."

He said he last spoke to his son about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. "He said it was a little rough, but not too bad," Miller said. "Everything was fine."

His family spent Thursday anxiously waiting news from the Coast Guard. "We’re very stressed ...," Miller said. "I’m a retired officer of the Coast Guard, and now I’m sitting on the other side. It’s hard, very hard to go through this."

A New Bedford fishing vessel with a four-man crew sank last weekend. The Lady of Grace, a 75-foot dragger, went down about 12 miles north of Nantucket. Only one crewmember’s body has been recovered.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)

Statement and timeline from Police Commissioner Davis

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis issued this statement and timeline today to explain how the Police Department reacted to reports of suspicious devices found in the Boston area on Wednesday, Jan. 31. The devices turned out to be a marketing ploy for Turner Broadcasting Systems.

I would like to commend everyone involved in the response to yesterday’s events. The Citizens of Boston had their lives disrupted by what turned out to be a misguided publicity stunt. The men and women of the Boston Police Department and our various law enforcement partners responded to the situations presented to them efficiently and effectively, the way they have been trained to respond. Officers raced across the city in response to calls reporting bombs and other suspicious devices. As trained, our officers placed themselves in harms way to protect the public. Tough decisions were made to ensure safe situations. I cannot say enough about the rapid, efficient and skillful response by everyone involved in the day’s events. This response resulted in officers being held over to address the threats, which were being reported throughout the Boston Area.

Some have criticized the response to these incidents without having all the facts and circumstances known to them.

As the day unfolded the law enforcement community was informed in the early morning hours of the arrest by British authorities of several terror suspects.

At 6:53 a.m. DHS reported that a Washington D.C. Metro station was closed down due to a suspicious package.

At 8:18 a.m. an MBTA worker reported a suspicious device attached to a stanchion supporting Interstate 93 and near the train line. Appropriate units responded and determined that this device was suspicious and had components consistent with improvised explosive devices.

At 8:52 a.m. DHS notified Law Enforcement officials that at least 4 people were being treated at a post office after being overcome by fumes emanating from a package at a post office in New York City.

At 9:00 a.m. The Boston Police Bomb squad is requested by the MBTA to Sullivan Square and examines the item. As a precaution I-93 is closed and the device is rendered safe and determined to be some sort of hoax device at 10:21 AM.

At 12:54 p.m. the Boston Police Bomb squad receives a call for a suspicious device at the intersection of Stuart and Charles Street. That device appears similar to the first device containing batteries, wires, magnets and other components similar to the device in Sullivan Square. Using approved procedures the item is photographed, X-rayed and eventually rendered safe.

Six minutes later at 1:02 p.m. Boston Police received a call from New England Medical Center Security that they had uncovered a pipe bomb in their building in a desk drawer. Shortly thereafter Hospital Security reported that a suspect had been seen leaving the area of the pipe bomb in an agitated state stating “God is warning you that today is going to be a sad Day”. The suspect was reported to have fled the hospital. Boston Police continue to investigate this incident. No further details at this time.

At 1:08 p.m. the Boston Police Bomb Squad arrived and confirmed the existence of an item which appeared to be a pipe bomb inside the hospital.

At 1:11 p.m. information was received and a request was made by the Massachusetts State Police to have the bomb squad assist with locating devices under the Longfellow and BU bridges.

At this point we had multiple reports of possible improvised explosive devices of various types. As those devices were being investigated and rendered safe, detectives from the Boston Police Department and Massachusetts State Police were running down information on a cartoon character possibly associated with these devices, that later led to websites associated with that character and individuals placing these devices around the area.

Boston Police begin to receive numerous calls for similar devices throughout Boston and surrounding areas.

At approximately 4:30 p.m. detectives from the Boston Police Department were contacted and were verifying information from representatives from the corporation responsible for this advertising campaign.

At 4:51 p.m. Turner Broadcasting representatives were verified as taking responsibility for placing devices with the cartoon character. This was at the same time a press conference was underway at Boston Police Headquarters.

Officers identified a device (possible pipe bomb) at the New England Medical Center which turned out to be unrelated. Another type of device was located under the Longfellow Bridge, which is being investigated by the Massachusetts State Police.

During this time, ATF, FBI, Federal Protective Services, United States Secret Service, Massachusetts State Police, Federal Park Police, Transit Police, and our UASI Partners pulled together and redeployed resources in the event a larger response was needed.

Later in the evening the emergency event was declared resolved.

I recognize that this event caused you to work extra hours, to inconvenience your families and cause them concern. I want to convey my deep appreciation of your dedicated service and my pride in the manner in which the members of this Department responded to this incident.

Posted by jtuohey at 7:58 PM | Comments (0)

Turner Broadcasting accepts full responsibilty for scare

By Maria Cramer, Michael Levenson, and Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

Turner Broadcasting System today accepted full responsibility for the guerrilla marketing campaign that caused a panic in Boston.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said that the company had agreed to pay the cost of the massive effort to defuse what authorities had believed was a potential bomb plot. Those costs are expected to top $500,000 in Boston and approach near another $500,000 for the MBTA, Cambridge, and Somerville.

‘‘We have no intention of shirking the responsibility onto any other company,’’ said Shirley Powell, a spokeswoman for Turner Broadcasting. ‘‘We are taking full responsibility for this.’’

The statement was issued came as friends of a local artist involved in the guerrilla advertising campaign causing a panic in Boston said he was told by a New York marketing executive five hours into the scare not to tell anyone.

According to an e-mail one friend provided to the Globe, the executive at Interference Inc. told the artist the agency had hired to install the small, battery-powered light screens in Boston to stay mum, even as dozens of police officers collected the devices and shut down highways, subway lines, and part of the Charles River.

The executive asked Peter Berdovsky to ‘‘pretty please keep everything on the dl,’’ street slang for down low, or hush-hush, according to the message Berdovsky sent to his friends. The Globe was told by two of Berdovsky’s friends about the e-mail they say he sent at 1:25 p.m. Wednesday, three hours before Turner Broadcasting, an Interference client, disclosed that the scare was a marketing campaign gone awry. A third friend later provided a copy of the e-mail. The attorney general’s office, Berdovsky’s lawyers, and Turner Broadcasting would not comment on the authenticity of the e-mail, and the Globe could not immediately verify it.

‘‘Peter was terrified at this point,’’ one friend, Toshi Hoo, said in an interview. ‘‘He was expecting them to handle it, but they weren’t handling it. They let the entire country stay on terror alert.’’

The e-mail suggests that the creators of the marketing blitz were trying to hide their involvement and doing nothing to stop the scare. When they decided to speak out about two hours later, they called their client, the Cartoon Network, rather than alerting any of the numerous law enforcement agencies involved, further delaying notification of about the marketing campaign. The network’s parent company, Turner Broadcasting, issued an official statement at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

An angry Menino said angrily yesterday that ‘‘if that’s true, that’s totally irresponsible.’’

Yesterday, Interference’s chief executive, Sam Ewen, hung up when reached on his cellphone and did not respond to e-mails and phone messages. His office in SoHo was locked, and there was no answer at his home in Brooklyn.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis issued a time line this afternoon that showed that the companies involved in the marketing campaign did not acknowledge responsibility for the bomb scares for another three hours when Boston police detectives were contacted by company officials at 4:30 p.m.

The department did not verify the role the companies played in the chaos until 4:51 p.m., Davis said. Turner Broadcasting Systems -- Cartoon Network’s parent company -- acknowledged that one of its marketing departments had approved the plan by Interference to install the magnetic lighted boards in 10 cities, including Boston.

Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, smiled broadly at their arraignment today in Boston Municipal Court. They pleaded not guilty to charges of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct. The two men seemed to have trouble keeping their composure as Assistant Attorney General John Grossman described the battery-powered characters as "bomb-like devices."

Moments after facing the felony charges, Berdovsky and Stevens mocked reporters at a press conference outside court, deflecting questions about their culpability with non-sequitur quips about haircuts in the 1970s.

"Hair today, gone tomorrow," said Stevens.

Berdovsky added: "I'm quite enjoying this."

Berdovsky told investigators that the two men were each paid $300 to place 40 devices throughout metropolitan Boston, according to a police report filed today in court. Berdovsky had met someone named "John" at a party in Brooklyn, N.Y., in November 2006 who worked for Interference Marketing and asked if he would be interested in helping with a "promotional stunt." Berdovsky told police he recruited his long-time friend Stevens to help.

The company shipped Berdovsky 40 of the magnetic lights. Adrienne Yee from Interference e-mailed him a list of Do's and Don'ts. According to the police report, the preferable locations for the devices included: "Train stations, over passes, hip and trendy areas, high traffic areas of high visibility."

Berdovsky told police that he and Stevens put 20 of the magnetic lights in place about two weeks ago in what they called "Boston Mission 1." Another friend, Dana Seaber, 27, videotaped the operation and a copy was e-mailed to Interference, according to the police report.

Overnight Monday, Berdovsky and Stevens embarked on "Boston Mission 2" and hung another 18 devices, including one underneath Interstate 93 in Sullivan Square in Charlestown.

A little more than 24 hours later, someone in Sullivan Square spotted the magnetic light and reported it as a suspicious object. That forced the closure of the MBTA's Orange Line and northbound I-93 and ignited a wave of bomb scares as people spotted more of the magnetic lights.

Posted by aryan at 5:56 PM | Comments (0)

Newburyport fishing boat missing off Maine

(Coast Guard photo)

Lady Luck disappeared overnight 12 miles off the coast of Maine, just south of Portland.

By Andrew Ryan and Kay Lazar, Globe Staff

A Newburyport-based fishing boat with two crew members aboard went missing overnight 12 miles out at sea, prompting a massive search with aircraft and three Coast Guard cutters less than a week after four fishermen were presumed dead when their boat sank off New Bedford.

A jet, a helicopter, and other fishing boats are searching a swath of ocean off Cape Elizabeth in Maine for Lady Luck, a 52-foot vessel that issued a distress call today at 2 a.m. The boat had been heading to Gloucester and disappeared off Cape Elizabeth, which is just south of Portland.

The Coast Guard identified the missing crew members this afternoon as Dan Miller, 21, of North Hampton, N.H., and Sean Cone, 24, of Newburyport, who was listed as the vessel master.

Investigators found an oil slick and debris floating near the location where it received the distress call. It could not be determined if the wreckage belonged to the Lady Luck.

The distress signal came from the boat's emergency radio beacon, a device designed to transmit a signal when it sinks beneath nine feet of water. The beacon can also be manually activated by the crew.

"We really don't know at this point what happened," said Petty Officer Etta Smith, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

At about 5 a.m., the crew on the Falcon jet, which flew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, dropped a life raft near the emergency beacon and directed another boat, Blue Water II, to the area. Neither the boat nor the plane were able to find the crew.

An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and a P3 airplane from the Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine, have also joined the search, in addition to several fishing boats and the Coast Guard cutters Seneca and Flyingfish from Boston and Marcus Hanna from South Portland.

The Coast Guard did not release the names of the missing crew members or identify the owner of the Lady Luck.

Posted by aryan at 3:45 PM | Comments (0)

Graduation rates show achievement gap in urban schools

By Tracy Jan, Globe staff

Only 62 percent of students in the state's urban school systems are graduating within four years, compared with more than 90 percent of their peers in the suburbs, an achievement gap that needs to be addressed immediately, Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said today.

Graduation rate data released for the first time today by the state Department of Education also showed disparities by gender and ethnic and racial groups.

Of Massachusetts students who entered high school in 2002 and were supposed to graduate last spring, 83.5 percent of girls graduated, compared with 76.4 percent of boys. More girls than boys of every ethnicity graduated within four years. Hispanic males fared the worst, with only half graduating on time.

The data paints a striking difference in stability among the state's rich and poor communities. In wealthy towns such as Weston and Winchester, the student body changes little during their four years in high school. But mostly minority cities such as Lawrence and Holyoke lose as much as half the class to transfers or dropouts.

"This is a huge problem in America and we're sleeping through it," Driscoll said during a press conference in Boston. "You have to understand the challenges our urban areas face."

Posted by aryan at 2:17 PM | Comments (0)

Artists perform at post-arraignment press conference

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

Moments after facing a judge on felony charges, the two defendants in the cartoon character ploy that panicked the region were all smiles and jokes, staging a mocking press conference this afternoon outside the Charlestown courthouse in which they deflected questions about their culpability with non sequiter quips about their hair.

"Hair today, gone tomorrow," said Sean Stevens, 28, when asked about the charges.

Stevens and Peter Berdovsky, 27, pleaded not guilty to charges of placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. Authorities say the two men were responsible for placing 38 electronic signs depicting characters from the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" program on Cartoon Network as part of a guerilla marketing campaign for the show.

Surrounded by reporters, Berdovsky stroked his lengthy dreadlocks and delivered a discourse on haircut styles in the 1970s, Afros, and the Beatles' hair styles.

"We are only taking questions on hair," he said.

The men's lawyer, Michael L. Rich, stood awkwardly by their side.

"He's a performance artist," said Rich. "If you don't like what you are seeing here, why don't you leave them alone."

The two criminal defendents alternately smiled and made ironic grimaces. "I'm quite enjoying this," said Berdovsky.

After a few minutes, clearly frustrated reporters walked away and the two men left.

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

Grand jury testimony details findings in Station nightclub fire

By Stephen Kurkjian, Globe Staff

Thousands of pages of documents from the grand jury investigation into the Rhode Island Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people and injured more than 200 in 2003 were released today by the office of Attorney General Patrick Lynch.

The release, which was ordered by a Superior Court judge following a public records request by three media outlets including The Globe, tracks the criminal investigation into the fire, which was the worst in Rhode Island’s history. The investigation led to the successful prosecution of the two brothers who owned the nightclub and the manager of the Great White rock band, who set off the pyrotechnic display that started the deadly fire the night of Feb. 20, 2003.

The Attorney General's office has posted all of the released documents on its website.

Although he was not called to testify before the grand jury, Jack Russell, the band’s lead singer, said in a written statement to the police that within moments of his taking the stage at 11 p.m. the pyrotechnics "caught [the] foam wall on fire. Obviously not up to speed as flame retardant. [We were] told by venue it was okay to use [pyrotechnics] but the place burned. I tried get some people out but couldn’t see to get in."

Great White's manager Daniel Biechele, who was sentenced to four years in jail after pleading guilty to 100 charges of involuntary manslaughter last year, told police he had discussed using pyrotechnics with Michael Derderian, who owned the nightclub with his brother Jeffrey. In a letter to police, he said Jeffrey Derderian was beside the nightclub's stage as he wired the devices, called "gerbs" in the industry, for firing.

Michael Derderian was sentenced to four years in prison and three years probation after pleading guilty to manslaughter charges in September. Jeffrey Derderian, a former television reporter, was sentenced to 500 hours of community service. The Derderians had installed sound-proofing, which was not flame-retardant, around the nightclub's stage to cut down on the sound, which had been upsetting neighbors.

The testimony released today showed that grand jurors were concerned about the failure of West Warwick's fire marshal Denis Larocque to order the removal of the flammable sound-proofing but prosecutors told the grand jury that under Rhode Island state law fire marshals can only be prosecuted if "bad faith" led to their negligent conduct.

However, Randy Bast, owner of the Tennessee company that sold Biechele the fireworks, said he urged Biechele not to use pyrotechnics for the Great White band tour. Many of the venues were too small to allow for the gerbs, which set off a 15-foot spray of sparks for 15 seconds, he said.

"I told him to stay away from pyrotechnic devices," said Bast about his conversation with Biechele two months before the nightclub fire.
In a statement today, Lynch said he regretted the pain that the previously unreleased documents might bring to the families of those who died in the fire or those injured.

"I firmly believe that our disclosures of information have served the public interest and public good, but I have no illusions about the high costs they have privately exacted upon The Station fire families," Lynch said. "I understand that the release of case information -- and particularly today's information, which describes and depicts the events of Feb. 20, 2003, in vivid detail -- could well be very traumatic and painful, and I want the victims' families and the survivors to know how much I regret any further sorrow this causes them."

Posted by aryan at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)

Men accused of hoax plead not guilty

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The two men accused of plunging metropolitan Boston into a panic with illuminated advertisements for a cartoon pleaded not guilty today in a courtroom packed with supporters and a crush of reporters.

The two men smiled broadly throughout much of the brief proceeding as Assistant Attorney General John Grossman described the battery-powered characters as "bomb-like devices." The men, Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, face charges of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct.

The artists shuffled into Boston Municipal Court in handcuffs. Stevens was particularly animated, grinning at the gallery of about 40 supporters and raising his cuffed hand to give a low wave.

Judge Paul K. Leary seemed skeptical of the state's case, telling Grossman that the law requires that people must intend to create a panic to be charged with placing hoax devices. This case, the judge said, seemed to involve two men who relatives say were paid to place unorthodox advertisements throughout the city.

The question of intent was a legal issue for another hearing, Grossman said. The two men were ordered held on $2,500 cash bail, which they posted early this afternoon.

The prosecutor in court said that although the two suspects may have been acting on directions from an advertising firm, they were still the individuals who put up devices that scared people and tied Boston in knots as police shutdown roads and bridges.

When explosive material teams examined the devices on bridges and underpasses Wednesday, experts thought that the electronic rectangles could have been bombs, Grossman said. The devices had a power source and wires leading to an object wrapped in duct tape. In the end, the duct tape only contained batteries -- but it could have concealed some type of explosive, Grossman said.

Attorney Michael L Rich, a longtime friend who Berdovsky lived with for a decade, represented both men in court.

Outside court, Lorraine Stevens defended her grandson, saying that fears of terrorism in a post Sept. 11th world would have never entered his mind as he posted the cartoon characters throughout the city.

"It would not enter his mind," Lorraine Stevens said. "He just doesn't think that way. He's a total pacifist. If he thought anything would be misconstrued, he wouldn't have done it."

Posted by aryan at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)

Adult Swim network posts apology for marketing scare

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Adult Swim, the late-night programming that includes the animated television show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," posted an apology on its website to the citizens of Boston, saying it "deeply regretted the hardships experienced" after its unorthodox advertising campaign incited alarm and sent police scrambling after a series of bomb scares.

Adult Swim, which is shown on the Cartoon Network after dark, posted the apology on a black screen on its homepage.

"We appreciate the gravity of the situation," the statement says. It continues, "As soon as we realized an element of the campaign was being taken as something potentially dangerous, appropriate law enforcement officials were notified."

The statement said it directed the "third party firm" who placed "advertisements" to take the battery-operated devices down. That firm is New York City-based Interference, Inc.

Police arrested two men Wednesday night who they accused of putting the lighted devices on bridges and other locales throughout the city.

The note from Adult Swim also added that the company does "appreciate the commitment demonstrated by the Boston Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, as well as the Massachusetts Governor's Office."

The Cartoon Network's parent company, Turner Broadcasting Systems, has also apologized.

Posted by aryan at 9:47 AM | Comments (0)

Supporters rally outside court for men charged with hoax

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

About a dozen artists and other supporters rallied outside Charlestown Municipal Court this morning in defense of the two men charged with placing battery-powered cartoon characters throughout the city that touched off fears of bombs and terrorism.

Most of the supporters held computer printouts fashioned in the same design as the guerrilla adverting campaign that sparked the panic. The signs included Wednesday's date -- 1-31-07 -- and had the words "Never Forget" beneath one of the characters from the Cartoon Network television show.

Sage, 35, one of the supporters who described herself as an artist but declined to give her last name, said that Turner Broadcasting Systems, the parent company behind the marketing blitz, is the real culprit.

Turner "didn't think this advertisement through," Sage said, standing outside court. "The people who are suffering, they are innocent, they are innocent people."

Police last night arrested Peter Berdovsky, 27. The artist, originally from Belarus, told the Globe earlier in the day that he installed the signs for an ad firm hired by Turner Broadcasting. He faces up to five years in prison on charges of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct.

His lawyer and friend, Michael L. Rich, said he hoped in court today to get Berdovsky's bail reduced and "end this craziness."

A second man, Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown, was arrested at about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Stevens was also charged with placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct.

Both suspects are scheduled to be arraigned today.

Posted by aryan at 9:14 AM | Comments (0)