UMass online school gets expansion grant

SHREWSBURY

The online learning section of the University of Massachusetts is getting more than a half million dollars from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to expand its offerings. The $650,000 grant will help UMassOnline develop programs that will combine online classes with the five UMass campuses. About 10,000 students are enrolled in UMassOnline, which offers almost 70 online degree and certificate programs. One of the first programs scheduled to expand is the postmaster's certificate for a nurse educator's program at the university's Worcester campus. (AP)

LYNNFIELD

Three men who killed a Lynnfield couple in 1985 are not entitled to a new trial, a justice of the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled Thursday , according to the Essex district attorney's office. Dennis Daye , Richard Costa , and Michael DeNictolis were sentenced to life in prison in 1987 in the first-degree shooting death of Robert and Patricia Paglia in their home on Jan. 6, 1985. Official testimony during the initial trial linked a bullet from one of the victims to a bullet found in the basement of Costa's Rye, N.H., home. The men contended the science of the analysis has changed and that a specialist testifying today would not be able to link the two bullets. However, the court ruled there was substantial other evidence proving their guilt, according to the district attorney's office. It was the defendants' fourth attempt to have their convictions overturned.

LAWRENCE

Four Lawrence residents were indicted on perjury charges yesterday, accused of lying during a murder investigation. The charges stem from a grand jury probe into the Aug. 5 shooting of 19-year-old Rafael Gomez of Lawrence during a dispute outside a nightclub. David Polanco , 21, and Alexis Chavez , 19, have been charged with the slaying. The four indicted yesterday by an Essex County grand jury for perjury were: Mindy Thai , 18, Carlos Rivera , 24, Yashira Nunez , 20, and Richard Gonzalez , 19. All but Gonzalez are also charged with being an accessory after the fact to Gomez's killing. The four were released on bail and face a hearing in Lawrence District Court Friday. If convicted, they could each serve up to 20 years imprisonment on the perjury charges.

MONTPELIER

The Governor's Commission on Climate Change has decided to keep higher fuel taxes on its list of options for strategies to combat global warming, despite the objections of four members. The debate Thursday was a sign of the disputes likely to erupt as the panel and lawmakers study the effects of climate change and develop ways to cut greenhouse emissions. The 30-member commission decided not to study whether a big jump in the gas tax would decrease the amount motorists drive, cutting carbon dioxide emissions. But the group agreed to study slightly raising the fuel tax to fund strategies to cut vehicle emissions. (AP)

Concerned about the $2 million price tag, Vermont lawmakers are seeking alternatives in implementing new federal security rules for issuing driver's licenses. Privacy advocates warned a Senate committee Thursday that Vermonters will be upset by the changes, which they said could threaten the security of their identities. Under a 2005 federal law, state residents will have to provide birth certificates and other forms of identity to get or renew a driver's license, said Bonnie Rutledge, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. States that don't implement the changes will not be able to use the identity cards to enter federal buildings or airplanes. Lawmakers questioned the value of the program, which is aimed at reducing terrorism. (AP)

AUGUSTA, Maine

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection has assumed jurisdiction over the first of two proposals for liquefied natural gas terminals in Passamaquoddy Bay, a move that is expected to boost public participation. Downeast LNG's proposed terminal in Robbinston would be capable of supplying up to 625 million cubic feet of natural gas a day to the Maritimes & Northeast pipeline. The board is expected to assume jurisdiction over the other project once it is filed. Quoddy Bay LNG wants to build a terminal on Passamaquoddy land and storage tanks in Perry. Quoddy Bay's system would be capable of handling up to 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily. Both companies have filed applications with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. They are among at least nine LNG applications or proposals in New England. (AP)