Globe North news brief

COUNCIL SETS OVERRIDE VOTE - The city is poised to hold its first special election to override Proposition 2 1/2. Responding to an outcry by residents over the proposed layoffs of 61 school employees and the potential closing of two schools, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to hold a special election June 3 requesting a $2.5 million override. If it passes, homes valued at $450,000 - the average for a single-family in the city - would see an increase of $185, to $4,934. - Steven Rosenberg

MILL POND CLEANUP DAY - To mark Earth Day, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Fisheries Service and the city of Gloucester will host a cleanup of Mill Pond from 9 a.m. to noon on April 26. Volunteers are asked to meet at the O'Maley School parking lot on Osman-Babson Road at 8:45 a.m. The city's Health Department will help organize cleanup teams. The city's Department of Public Works also will assist with garbage disposal. - Steven Rosenberg

INCENTIVE TO TAKE AP COURSES - Malden and Revere high school students could soon be earning cash for testing well on advanced placement exams. The two public schools were among 11 chosen by the Massachusetts Math and Science Initiative to participate in a program aimed at raising the number of students who take and pass the exams during the 2008-09 school year. Students would be awarded $100 for each math, science, or English exam they complete with a passing score. "This program fits perfectly with the goal set by our School Committee for every high school junior and senior to take at least one AP class," Malden Superintendent Sidney Smith wrote in a statement posted on Malden's website. Program officials estimate that they will be able to increase the number of Malden students passing the AP exams by almost 70 percent in the coming academic year. Revere Superintendent Paul Dakin said the program will make AP courses "a real possibility" for juniors and seniors, and announced a goal to double participation by 2013. Advanced Placement is a program of college-level courses that offer the opportunity to obtain college credit. Massachusetts is one of seven states that has launched similar programs. - Erin Ailworth and Katheleen Conti

HOT TUB STILL OFF-LIMITS - The hot tub at CoCo Key Water Resort at the Sheraton Ferncroft Resort Hotel will have to receive state approval before it will be allowed to reopen. The resort applied for a variance from state regulations that require anti-vortex covers for drains, which reduce the suction power. The Middleton Board of Health approved the variance on April 2, conditional upon state approval. The hot tub has been closed since March 5. - Kathy McCabe

ENERGY SOURCE FORUM - Is nuclear power sustainable and should it be part of the solution to the country's growing energy demands? That's the subject of a free presentation and discussion at 7 p.m. on April 17 at the Mass. Audubon Joppa Flats Education Center, 1 Plum Island Turnpike. Chris Nord, vice president of the Citizens Awareness Network and a board member of the C-10 Foundation, will lead the event. The C-10 Foundation is a nonprofit that seeks alternatives to nuclear power. Nord also will talk about the status of Seabrook nuclear power plant. For more information. go to c-10.org or newburyportseed.org. - Kay Lazar