Carbon monoxide sends 5 to hospital

Five Brighton residents were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for evaluation last night after being affected by high levels of carbon monoxide coming from heating units in their apartment building at 308 Washington St., fire officials reported. The Fire Department responded about 9:30 p.m. to several apartments where carbon monoxide detectors were sounding. Firefighters shut down the building's heating systems and called in the heating company to investigate the cause.

About 40 Newbury Street business owners met with police officers yesterday to discuss ways to combat a surge of break-ins in one of Boston's most popular shopping districts. Captain William Evans, who supervises the police district that includes Newbury Street, advised the group to add staff during the holidays, put merchandise deeper into the store, and keep a close eye on the door. The Police Department has added three walking officers to the Newbury Street area, including an officer on bike between midnight and 7:30 a.m. Downtown Crossing also has additional officers, Evans said. Business owners also were encouraged to invest in security cameras and shatter-resistant windows.

The final series of repairs to Big Dig tunnels following last summer's fatal ceiling collapse are almost finished. Repairs to the westbound Interstate 90 connector, which links the Ted Williams Tunnel to the Massachusetts Turnpike, are virtually complete. Repairs to the eastbound connector tunnel -- where 39-year-old Milena Del Valle of Boston was killed in July -- are about 80 percent complete and should be finished "in several weeks," said Jon Carlisle, spokesman for the state Executive Office of Transportation. Both tunnels will have to be inspected first by the state and then by federal officials, so their reopening may not come until several weeks after repairs are fully complete, Carlisle said. (AP)

BROCKTON

The Department of Social Services concluded yesterday that there was not sufficient evidence to charge a former Brockton High School coach with having inappropriate conduct with two female swimmers on the team , spokeswoman Denise Monteiro said. Monteiro said agency officials would not discuss details of the allegations against Joshua Hayston , 29, of Taunton, but they conducted an investigation because the alleged victims were under age 18. Hayston was relieved of his part-time position as a swim coach on Nov. 21, the day the allegations surfaced. It was not clear last night if he would resume coaching.

WASHINGTON

Massachusetts jumped two notches and ranked as the seventh healthiest state in the country in an annual report released yesterday, which found that the Bay State had a high immunization rate for children, a low infant mortality rate, and a low percentage of residents without health insurance. The rankings -- by United Health Foundation, an independent, nonprofit foundation funded by the healthcare company UnitedHealth Group -- also found that the rate of uninsured dropped by 16 percent in the last year in Massachusetts and that the infant mortality rate has fallen by 40 percent since 1990. Minnesota topped the rankings as the country's healthiest state for the fourth straight year. Three New England states -- Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont -- also finished among the top five.

MILFORD

The Boston region has been selected as one of six locations to host Air Force Week next summer, the Air Force announced yesterday. The event will be hosted by the Massachusetts Air National Guard and will culminate in conjunction with the Cape Cod Air Show on Aug. 25-27, featuring the Thunderbirds, the elite demonstration team. The other five locations are Atlanta, Honolulu, Phoenix, Sacramento, and St. Louis.

CONCORD, N.H.

Thanks to an agreement with the Mount Washington Cog Railway, the summit of Mount Washington will be added to the state's electric grid. Buildings on the summit, including the Mount Washington Observatory, get their power from generators. The agreement will allow the state to bury electric lines alongside the Cog Railway track. (AP)