NEW ENGLAND IN BRIEF
State's dropout rate declined, report says
The state's annual dropout rate dropped to 3.3 percent in 2005-06 from 3.8 percent the year before, according to a state Department of Education report released yesterday. Nearly 10,000 high school students dropped out , down from 11,145 students the previous year. Part of the decline occurred because the state, which is using a new database, did not count 1,256 dropouts that year because they eventually passed a high school equivalency test. Of the total group of dropouts, roughly 60 percent were male students, 23 percent were special education students, 41 percent were low-income, and 10 percent weren't fluent in English.
State Police increase Esplanade patrols
As State Police continue to search for a suspect in a sexual assault last week, they have added extra patrols on walkways and jogging paths on the Charles River Esplanade. Troopers on all three shifts have been patrolling the park on foot, in cruisers, and on motorcycles and bicycles, State Police said. Investigators "will devote a considerable amount of their time and resources in and around the Esplanade area," a statement said. On Saturday, between 11 and 11:15 p.m., a woman jogging alone along the Esplanade was attacked, police said. Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call State Police at 617-727-4812.
Panel to review UMass system structure
Governor Deval Patrick announced yesterday that the committee he established to study his education proposals will also review the governance and structure of the University of Massachusetts system. The move follows strong opposition to the UMass president's plan to restructure university leadership. Jack M. Wilson had previously proposed the appointment of a task force to review the system, but legislators had requested that Patrick do so instead. The task force will not review Wilson's authority to make personnel decisions. Wilson and Stephen P. Tocco , chairman of the university's board of trustees, expressed support for the governor's plan.
STONEHAM
Voters reject $3m Prop 2 1/2 override
Voters rejected a $3 million override in a special town election yesterday. Though the defeat was by a 237-vote margin, only one in seven precincts supported the general budget override of Proposition 2 1/2. Town Administrator David Ragucci said the 2,936-to-2,699 vote would force his office and the Board of Selectmen to revisit the budget and consider reductions. They may revisit a trash collection fee, which was not included in the budget for next year and would generate about $1 million. Despite the budget challenges, Ragucci said, "There shouldn't be any layoffs." Voter turnout was 39 percent.
SPRINGFIELD
Mother shot 3 times is in fair condition
A Springfield mother was upgraded to fair condition yesterday after being shot three times Monday by her estranged husband, who then fatally shot himself, police said. Jose Beltre , 26 , of Springfield broke into the home of Delia Beltre , 26 , just after 7:30 a.m. and shot her in the neck, shoulder, and abdomen before turning the weapon on himself, police said. The couple's 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son were home at the time but were not harmed. Police said Delia Beltre made her way to a school bus idling outside her home and was driven to a hospital. The children are staying with relatives, authorities said.
HAVERHILL
N.H. woman at car wash killed by vehicle
Police are investigating a crash that killed a New Hampshire woman who was drying her vehicle at a car wash. Police say Robin Young, 43, of Danville had just gotten out of her vehicle Monday afternoon at the car wash when a vehicle left Route 125, jumped a retaining wall, careened through a parking lot, and struck her. Young's 10-year-old daughter was in the car and was not hurt. The driver, Marie Pigaga, 46, of Plaistow, has not been charged. (AP)
CONCORD, N.H.
State bans shellfishing as red tide blooms
Red tide has hit New Hampshire's seacoast, and state officials say shellfish cannot be harvested from the coastal waters until further notice. Testing has found elevated levels of the paralytic shellfish poisoning known as red tide in blue mussels collected from the Isles of Shoals and Hampton-Seabrook Harbor. State officials say it is too soon to know how severe the red tide bloom will be or how long it might last. Eating the toxin can be fatal. (AP) 