Woman sentenced for slashing baby

A Roslindale woman was sentenced yesterday to at least four years in prison for slashing an infant with an eyebrow razor, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley's office announced. Mabel Rojas, 20, pleaded guilty to cutting a 3-month-old infant with the razor in a Maxwell Street home on July 10, leaving deep incisions on the baby's throat and shoulder. Rojas also will serve an additional 43 days at the Suffolk County House of Correction for implicating an innocent man in the crime, authorities said. The extra time matches the stay Andrew Vaughn spent in jail after Rojas accused him of the slashing.

Bills for typical water and sewer service customers rose an average of 6.2 percent this year in the 61 communities served by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, according to a recently released report. It was the fourth time in five years that the rate increases have exceeded 6 percent. The increase underlines the need for the state to budget money to help control the increases, said Joseph Favaloro, executive director of the MWRA Advisory Board, which released the Water and Sewer Retail Rate Survey. More increases appear to be on the horizon. The MWRA is already looking at a $30 million, or 5.8 percent, increase in its wholesale prices to communities, assuming it gets the same level of assistance from the state next year. The MWRA price usually accounts for about two-thirds of the local water bill; local operating and capital costs account for the rest, Favaloro said.

The state Board of Education has approved a plan to improve mathematics training for prospective elementary school and special education teachers. The new plan is designed to ensure that would-be teachers are proficient in elementary mathematics, as well as able to explain mathematical concepts such as algebra, geometry, measurement, statistics, and probability. Under the plan, licensing tests for teachers will include a separate section containing 40 math problems beginning in January 2009. In the current exam, math questions are part of the single general test. The guidelines, originally proposed in July, were approved without discussion at yesterday's board meeting. (AP)

A newly elected School Committee member, who is under fire for falsely asserting that he served in the US Marine Corps and who has a criminal background, said yesterday that he will not resign. James Stokes, 65, told the School Committee he will "stay and fight" so he can remain on the committee. Mayor Michael J. Sullivan said last week the city is investigating whether Stokes wrongly stated he was a veteran on election documents. A criminal background check last week by the Globe found that Stokes served jail time in 1964 and 1986 for larceny and forgery.

US Representative John F. Tierney, Democrat of Salem, has persuaded the US Department of Veterans Affairs to hold off on plans for consolidating treatment services at its Boston-area medical centers until a comprehensive study can be done. Tierney is worried about the VA moving too quickly on its latest proposal to move some inpatient care from Bedford to Brockton. The VA recently agreed to Tierney's request for a thorough analysis of its newest plan and will also hold a public meeting to address the issue. Veterans supporters across the state are pressing their four-year fight to persuade the VA to scrap plans to shift services at its four area hospitals, including those in Boston's West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain sections. (AP)

Santa Claus says that a woman who sat on his lap was naughty, not nice. A Santa at the Danbury Fair mall said the woman groped him. "The security officer at the mall said Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted," police Detective Lieutenant Thomas Michael said of the weekend complaint. Sandrama Lamy, 33, of Danbury was charged with sexual assault and breach of peace. She was released on a promise to appear in court on Jan. 3. Police quickly found and identified Lamy because the woman was described as being on crutches, said Captain Bob Myles. A call seeking comment from Lamy was answered by a recording yesterday morning. Police did not give the name of the disconcerted Santa, but they said he is 65 and felt bad because children were waiting to see him. "He was apparently shocked and embarrassed by the whole incident," Myles said. (AP)