Man pleads not guilty in fatal shooting

SOMERVILLE
A 24-year-old Boston man pleaded not guilty yesterday to a charge of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a man inside a car last week. Jean Roy was ordered held without bail after his arraignment in Somerville District Court. He is accused of shooting two people in a car on Walnut Street at 4 a.m. on May 6. The two victims were rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where 23-year-old John Micelin was pronounced dead. Roy is scheduled to appear in court again June 7.

BOSTON

The state's secretary of health and human services, Judy Bigby, announced the appointment yesterday of Julia E. Kehoe as commissioner for the Department of Transitional Assistance and the reappointment of Jane E. Tewksbury as commissioner of the Department of Youth Services. Kehoe previously served as director of the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership. She has advocated for changes in the affordable housing system, including improving services for the homeless. Tewksbury has led the youth services agency since 2005.

A fire that spread through faulty duct work at No. 9 Park led to the closing of the popular Beacon Hill restaurant yesterday, fire officials said. The one-alarm fire broke out at about 1 p.m. in the kitchen. No injuries were reported. Fire officials estimated the restaurant had about $10,000 worth of damage. The restaurant was expected to remain closed while crews fixed the duct work and cleaned up smoke damage, officials said.

CAMBRIDGE

Harvard University has named a science dean to succeed Drew Gilpin Faust, the university's incoming president, as the interim head of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Barbara J. Grosz, the dean of science at Radcliffe and a professor known for her research on artificial intelligence, will become Radcliffe's interim dean on July 1, the same day Faust takes over the Harvard presidency, Faust announced yesterday. Grosz also served as chairwoman of Harvard's Task Force on Women in Science and Engineering in 2005, after former president Lawrence Summers caused an uproar by commenting that genetic gender differences could explain why few women rise to top science jobs. Radcliffe has evolved from Harvard's all-female school into a think tank. (AP)

WINCHESTER

A senior at Winchester High School pleaded not guilty to multiple gun charges yesterday, a day after police said they found a sawed-off shotgun in his car. Kenneth Torlone Jr., 17, was arrested just before 2 p.m. Thursday when he returned to his car, which was parked off campus, officials said. Officers said they found the shotgun, along with ammunition, in the trunk. Police said they found other weapons at a location where Torlone had access, but officials would not elaborate. School officials said a student who knew about the weapons told a faculty member, who notified police. Torlone was suspended for the rest of the school year, school officials said. He was released on bail and ordered not to go near the school.

PROVINCETOWN

A preschool-age child at a Provincetown elementary school contracted syphilis, but did not get the disease through sexual contact, and no other children are in danger, health officials say. "It was a skin-to-skin contact -- that has been determined -- and not in the genital area," Provincetown health agent Jane Evans told The Cape Cod Times Thursday, as about 50 parents met with local and state health officials. School and public health officials became aware of the situation Tuesday, according to a letter from the state Public Health Department sent to parents. (AP)

FALMOUTH

Police have recovered what they believe to be a missing Sept. 11 memorial plaque after following an anonymous tip received by a local newspaper. The bronze plaque commemorates Neilie Casey of Wellesley, who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks. It was mounted on a bluff overlooking Vineyard Sound before being taken last month. Police recovered the plaque on Thursday but would not say where. Police sent the plaque to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation at the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office to be processed for fingerprints.