Herald printing equipment vandalized

Printing equipment at The Boston Herald was vandalized Tuesday, police said. When police responded to the call at 12:19 yesterday morning, employees reported that 15 conveyor belts had been cut and six sorting or counting machines had been tampered with. The incident is under investigation, said James Kenneally, police spokesman. Distribution was "not significantly disrupted," Herald publisher Patrick J. Purcell said in a statement. The Herald has said it will close its sole printing plant in Boston, rather than upgrade its worn-out presses, and let go 130 to 160 workers. Purcell said "representatives from union leadership pledged their full support and cooperation in preventing further vandalism and identifying the person or persons responsible for the sabotage."

Governor Deval Patrick yesterday signed a bill written by a Lexington 16-year-old to lower the minimum age for blood donors from 17 to 16, with parental consent. The bill, drafted by Mark Chonofsky, a junior at Lexington High School, and sponsored by his state representative, Jay R. Kaufman, had the support of American Red Cross Blood Services and others who believe lowering the donor age will help address a consistent shortage in the state's blood supply and interest young people in becoming lifelong donors. Chonofsky researched the issue, drafted the bill, and lobbied the Legislature after being turned away at his school's blood drive because of his age.

The City Council has granted a permit to a company that wants to build a $150 million wood-burning power plant. The 7-to-2 vote Tuesday followed a two-hour hearing in which concerns were voiced that the plant would emit toxins into the air. Officials with Palmer Renewable Energy LLC, the company looking to build the facility, said that is not true and that the plant would use 900 tons of wood a day and provide 50 full-time jobs. Supporters say the plant would re-use wood that otherwise would be tossed in a landfill and will reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Palmer Renewable Energy still must get state approval, including an air-quality permit from the Department of Environmental Protection. (AP)

A Barnstable man was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter for fatally stabbing a man in a dispute over a woman. Alexander Phillips had been indicted for first-degree murder in the October 2006 death of Anthony Rano of Yarmouth, which carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole. But on Tuesday in Barnstable Superior Court, Phillips pleaded to the lesser charge, which means he will be eligible for parole in 18 years. Prosecutors said the victim's family agreed to the deal. Phillips and Rano, both 19 at the time of the stabbing, had attended the same high school. They fought over Phillips's girlfriend, who had dated Rano. (AP)

The state Department of Public Health announced yesterday that a dead crow found in Wayland has tested positive for West Nile virus. The virus can be deadly to humans and is most often transmitted by infected mosquitoes. There has been a large increase in the number of birds infected with West Nile this year, according to state figures. Sixty birds have tested positive for the virus statewide in 2008, up from 43 in 2007. There has not been a human case this year.

A former mayor of East Providence has been fined $500 for an ethics violation. The Rhode Island Ethics Commission ruled 4 to 2 on Tuesday that Joseph Larisa Jr. violated the state ethics code when he represented a client before the East Providence City Council in July 2007, about seven months after he had been out of office. The state's "revolving door" rule requires officials to wait a year after leaving office before appearing before their own agencies. The mayor of East Providence serves on the City Council. Larisa, a lawyer, represented a local Canvassing Authority member in a predisciplinary hearing before the council. He said he did not violate the "revolving door" rule because he did not charge a fee and because the hearing involved an issue of great public interest. Larisa says he'll appeal the fine. (AP)