Pastor says police to speak about robbery

Pastor Bruce Wall said Boston police plan to hold a press conference this morning at the station in Hyde Park to announce that Wall's 15-year-old son, who had been named as a possible suspect in the robbery of two teens on Nov. 9 in Cleary Square, was not involved in the crime. Wall said in a statement that he was contacted late Saturday by police, who told him two teens had been apprehended in the robbery. Wall, one of Boston's most outspoken antiviolence advocates, and his wife, Karin, plan to speak after police make their statement today at 10 a.m. Police could not be reached to confirm the announcement.

The deputy chief legal counsel at the Massachusetts Port Authority, Karen Nober, 46, was announced yesterday as the new executive director of the State Ethics Commission. Nober, a longtime government employee, has worked at Massport for 14 years. Before that, the Hull resident worked as assistant general counsel at the Executive Office of Economic Affairs and for the City of Boston. Nober, a graduate of Boston College Law School and Brandeis University, replaces Peter Sturges, who left his post over the summer. (State House News Service)

A new committee of business, educational, and civic leaders will fight efforts to gut the state's affordable-housing law, known as 40B. The Committee Against Repealing the Housing Law will oppose the ballot drive mounted by Repeal 40B, which says the measure has failed to create enough affordable housing. The newly-created committee argues the law has spurred the creation of nearly 50,000 homes statewide. Among the members of the group's steering committee are Paul Guzzi, president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Chris Gabrieli, former gubernatorial candidate and chairman of the Massachusetts 2020 Foundation, and Paul Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation.

The state's health insurers have unveiled a plan they say will help rein in rising healthcare costs. It includes both legislative proposals and voluntary steps the insurers say they can take on their own. Among those voluntary steps adopted by the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans is public disclosure of healthcare revenues and expenses. Information - including the amount paid for medical expenses and prescription drugs, and bonuses paid to providers - will be posted on the association's website. The association is also calling on lawmakers to enact changes, including requiring hospitals to publicly disclose preventable errors, and prevent them from billing for avoidable mistakes. (AP)

A New Bedford man was ordered held on $50,000 bail in a weekend bar fight that turned deadly in Wareham. Joshua Russell, 21, pleaded not guilty in Wareham District Court to charges of murder, attempted murder, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Police say Bruce Gallagher, 31, of Wareham was fatally injured early Saturday during the brawl outside Stevie B's Onset Sports Resort Bar & Grill. A second man, Daniel Martin, 27, of Fairhaven, was seriously injured. Russell was arrested the following day in Fairhaven. (AP)

Three separate fires within a span of 10 hours displaced more than two dozen Worcester residents but caused no serious injuries. The first blaze erupted early Sunday on the first floor of a three-decker on Vinson Street, forcing 13 residents into the bitter cold. The cause was not known. A few hours later, firefighters doused a house fire on Great Post Road apparently started by a cigarette smoldering on a couch. Three people were displaced. Another blaze struck a three-decker on Merrifield Street shortly after 11 a.m. Nine people escaped safely. (AP)

A soldier from Maine has been killed in Iraq, the second with ties to the small town of Lee to die in combat in less than six months. Corporal Blair William Emery, 24, originally from Lee, died Nov. 30 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Baqubah, according to Governor John Baldacci's office. Emery, whose parents live in Lee, served with the 571st Military Police Company, 97th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade. Sergeant Joel A. House, whose parents also live in Lee, was killed June 23 in Taji, Iraq. (AP)

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