Menino sets aside funds for job training

Mayor Thomas M. Menino set aside $250,000 for the Neighborhood Jobs Trust to help prepare trainees for "green jobs" in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and resource conservation, his office announced yesterday. Menino also asked members of the business and education communities and the wider community to provide their best ideas. The jobs trust uses linkage funds provided by developers to train and employ low-income city residents. Menino said the city and region will need green-collar workers to conduct energy audits, weatherize homes, and help produce biofuels and perform other environmentally friendly jobs to combat climate change.

The city's passion for legendary entertainer Frank Sinatra was shared yesterday at City Hall, where Mayor Thomas M. Menino unveiled a new Sinatra postage stamp. The US Postal Service released the Sinatra stamp a month ago. Menino decided to honor the singer after Ron Della Chiesa, who hosts "Simply Sinatra" on WPLM-FM, came to his office with the idea. Menino, who said he once met Sinatra at a concert, called the entertainer a "great source of pride for many Italian-Americans." "It's music to live by. . . . This music will last forever," he told the crowd of several dozen gathered in his office. "Let me tell you, folks, he was as gracious, charming, and warm in person as he appeared on stage." While residents in the North End had not met Sinatra, many said they want to keep his music alive. Yesterday, the crooner's voice spilled out of restaurants along Hanover Street.

State lawmakers urged oil executives and state agencies yesterday to do more to ease the pain of rising energy costs for struggling families. At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight, senators repeatedly suggested that fuel companies should be required to dedicate a certain portion of their revenue to developing renewable energy sources. "I've gotten more calls from constituents who are choosing between how to ration their food and their fuel," said committee chairman Marc R. Pacheco. "It is also important that we explore what state-level action we can take today. Quite frankly, we are running on empty." But Rayola Dougher, senior economic adviser for the American Petroleum Institute, said that oil companies are already spending money to create alternative fuels, and that creating further government regulations would probably hamper their efforts. "We need to take our investment dollars and send more to the market because there is an incredible demand," Dougher said.

The US Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board plan to hold a hearing today in Boston on the sinking of a trawler in the Bering Sea. Specialists on propeller and engineering systems on the Alaska Ranger will testify. The Seattle-based ship flooded through the rudder room and went down March 23, with the loss of five lives. The Coast Guard and a nearby ship rescued 42 members of the crew. Earlier board of inquiry sessions have been held in Dutch Harbor, Alaska; Anchorage; and Seattle. (AP)

Residents overwhelmingly voted last night to reject the city's first-ever Proposition 2 1/2 override initiative. The $2.5 million override, which was proposed to bail out the city's school district, was defeated by a vote of 6,686 to 3,846. As a result, the school district will close the McKeown Elementary School, redistrict its elementary school students, and send pink slips to 31 school employees, including 18 teachers. The override was proposed in March, as the district faced a $2.66 million deficit for the upcoming school year. School officials blame the shortfall on rising utility, insurance, and special education costs.

Authorities said a 62-year-old retired firefighter from Quincy, Mass., died Monday night while fishing on Grand Lake Stream. State Game Warden Brad Richard said Chester Aniolowski and a friend were fishing at the water's edge near the Grand Lake Stream Fish Hatchery when Aniolowski fell into the deep water. His fishing buddy, Joe Verlicco, also a retired firefighter from Quincy, said he jumped into the water and tried to keep Aniolowski's head above water, officials said. The Maine Warden Service was notified at approximately 7 p.m. Monday. Officials said it was not known if Aniolowski died because of a medical issue or by accidental drowning. (AP)