Witness confronted on way to court

March 21, 2008

Someone tried to intimidate a witness by flashing a gun at him as the witness headed to Dorchester District Court yesterday, police said. The witness, who was not identified, was walking to the courthouse about 10 a.m. when a black sedan with tinted windows rolled up beside him, said Officer James Kenneally, a spokesman for the Boston Police Department. A man in the passenger seat showed the witness a firearm and said, "You better keep your mouth shut," before driving off, Kenneally said. No arrests have been made in the case.

The state Senate has approved its version of Governor Deval Patrick's $1 billion, 10-year life sciences bill, which leaders say calls for more safeguards and a wider distribution of benefits. The legislation is designed to boost the state's biotechnology industry and job development and to entice talented scientists and researchers to remain at state institutions. The Senate version passed yesterday favors funding projects in economically distressed areas and reduces the rate of job growth that would be required for Massachusetts companies to receive grants. The bill goes back to the House, which passed its version last month. (AP)

A swastika and a racist message were found scrawled in a corridor of a freshmen residence hall this week, a Northeastern University spokesman said. Early Wednesday morning, residents of the Stetson West residence hall found the graffiti and reported the incident to the building's staff. The university's Division of Public Safety is investigating and believes it has identified a person of interest, someone who does not appear to be a Northeastern student, spokesman Fred McGrail said. A Bridgewater State College student from Middleborough was charged in federal court yesterday with possession and attempted receipt of child pornography, prosecutors said. They said that Johnny Pires, 23, an early childhood education major, procured several images of minors engaging in sexual acts. A judge at Pires's arraignment ordered him confined to his home, where he will be subject to electronic monitoring, but also allowed him to go to work and school, the US attorney's office said. Pires's lawyer, William W. Fick, could not be reached for comment last night.

The American Civil Liberties Union is backing Amherst students who say their middle school newspaper was censored because of poll results showing negative feelings toward administrators. In a letter this week, an ACLU attorney urged Amherst Middle School administrators to distribute the paper's March edition, which contains a survey that said 3 out of 4 students think that administrators ignore their concerns. School officials say the poll's methodology was flawed and biased. They say the edition will be republished and distributed only if a new survey is done. A 1988 US Supreme Court ruling gives broad discretion to public school administrators to control content of school-sponsored publications. (AP)

More students dropped out of public high schools in Massachusetts in the 2006-07 school year than the year before, the state says. The Department of Education says that nearly 11,500 students, or 3.8 percent of those in grades 9 through 12, dropped out before graduating. Nearly 2,000 were seniors who already had passed the MCAS exam. In the previous school year, the rate was 3.3 percent, or about 9,900 students. The Education Department says the higher numbers are due to improved collection of data, because the department had not previously counted transfers as dropouts. This year, officials were able to determine which transfers moved to other schools and which actually dropped out. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will discuss dropout prevention strategies at its meeting Tuesday. (AP)

The City Council voted to rescind the 10-year term limit for Portsmouth boards and commissions. The rule limited service to 10 consecutive years, unless the council approves otherwise. Councilor Ken Smith said that forcing members of boards and commission out affected the institutional knowledge of the group as a whole. The vote was 5 to 4 to repeal the rule. (AP)