By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff

Governor Patrick's budget chief said today that the state has struck tentative deals with four major state employee unions that call for mandatory furloughs and other changes that will save "tens of millions" of dollars and avert hundreds of layoffs.

Administration and Finance Secretary Jay Gonzalez said the four unions – AFSCME, SEIU 509, SEIU 888, and NAGE -- represent about 30,000 workers, or about three-quarters of the unionized executive branch employees. The agreements must still be approved by union members.

Gonzalez said the state is continuing to negotiate with other unions.

The Patrick administration said late last month it would eliminate nearly 1,000 jobs to close a massive state budget gap caused by the stumbling economy. Officials said another 1,000 jobs were in jeopardy if state employee unions did not agree to $35 million in concessions, such as unpaid furlough days.

Gonzalez, speaking at a breakfast meeting of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce at the Langham Hotel in downtown Boston, did not specify today the exact amount of concessions made by the four unions or exactly how many layoffs were averted.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Diane Patrick, the wife of the Massachusetts governor, is endorsing US Representative Michael E. Capuano, a major boost to his Democratic primary campaign to succeed the late US Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Diane Patrick

Governor Deval Patrick has officially remained neutral in the primary, but his wife’s endorsement could send a signal. Capuano endorsed Patrick early on in his 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

“Mike and Barbara offered us tremendous support and friendship throughout the course of Deval’s campaign,” Diane Patrick said in a statement. “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to reciprocate with my own endorsement now.”

One of Capuano’s chief rivals in the race, Attorney General Martha Coakley, is trying to become the first female US senator from Massachusetts and has locked up several key endorsements from politically active women.

FULL ENTRY

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

A former Stoughton police detective was charged today with making false statements to FBI agents during an ongoing corruption investigation.

Arlindo Romeiro, 37, who resigned from the force Thursday, was charged with one count of making false statements and representations while being interviewed by the FBI on July 13. He is charged in a federal information, which generally signals that a defendant has already reached a plea agreement and waived his right to have evidence presented to a grand jury.

FBI agents seized two stolen flat-screen televisions from the wall of a Portuguese social club on Washington Street in Stoughton a few months ago as part of an ongoing federal grand jury investigation into allegations of theft and possible corruption involving Stoughton police officers.

FULL ENTRY

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

PLYMOUTH -- Hundreds of people gathered today at a funeral service here to honor and remember Sergeant Benjamin Sherman, a local soldier who died earlier this month in Afghanistan.

Benjamin Sherman

Sherman disappeared Nov. 4 after jumping into a river in western Afghanistan. He was reportedly trying to save another soldier who appeared to be struggling against the current.

"We, too have lost a family member. An Army family member. And we share in your loss. There's a warrior ethos: never leave a fallen comrade. And that's how Benjamin left this world," Major General Paul Izzo told a crowd packed into the Second Church of Plymouth.

Friends and family remembered Sherman, 21, who was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant and awarded a Bronze Star as well as other medals, as a competitive young man who loved trucks, tattoos, baseball, and BMX bikes.

Sherman's sister, Meredith, recalled the last time he spoke with her.

She said he told her, "Meredith, I need to tell you something. Tell everybody I love them because I don’t know if I'll get that chance again."

FULL ENTRY

By John R. Ellement, Stephanie Ebbert, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

MEDFORD -- State Senator Anthony D. Galluccio vowed today to focus "on a number of life issues and personal issues" as he left court, but he continued his silence about why he allegedly sped away from a crash last month after rear-ending a minivan carrying a family of four.

The Democrat from Cambridge, who has been charged twice with driving drunk, has refused to say whether he was drinking alcohol before the crash on the afternoon of Oct. 4 in Cambridge, which left a 13-year-old boy with minor injuries.

"You know the legislative session has concluded," Galluccio said, speaking to a dozen reporters and photographers as he left Cambridge District Court after a brief hearing in his case. "It gives me an opportunity to focus on personal issues. I am committed to doing that."

Galluccio refused to discuss any detail of the case, however, "because of the legal issues." The senator also would not discuss a police report made public earlier this week that showed that Cambridge police gave him a ride home 13 hours before the crash because the officers were told he was "too intoxicated" to drive.

FULL ENTRY

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

The driver of a line-painting truck that fell on its side early this morning may be facing more charges because powerful illegal fireworks were found in the truck, State Police said.

Christopher Mandeville, 37, of Quincy, was driving on Route 3 North in Duxbury at 2 a.m. when the truck overturned, spilling propane, which is used to heat the paint, onto the highway.

State Police spokesman David Procopio said two sticks of M-Class explosives, best described as illegal fireworks, were found with Mandeville.

FULL ENTRY

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Police charged a Methuen teenager today in the brazen hit-and-run accident in Lowell that seriously injured a 12-year-old boy this week.

Michelle P. Medeiros, 17, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident. Police are considering additional charges.

Medeiros allegedly struck Kelvin Savanhmixay, 12, of Lowell, while she raced another car down VFW Highway in Lowell on Wednesday, police said.

Savanhmixay spent time in the intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital in Boston and was recovering after leg surgery, family said.

Police seized an Acura with a broken windshield yesterday in Methuen that they believe was involved in the crash.

The 2010 campaign for governor unofficially kicked off on Thursday when the three challengers appeared at a forum Westborough. Charles D. Baker (left) Christy Mihos (center) are vying for the Republican nomination. State Treasurer Timothy Cahill (right) is running as an independent.

(Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in Greater Boston since 1971. Each weekday, he highlights an outtake that did not appear in the morning paper. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here. To watch Gartland's weekly segment on NECN, click here.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

A key regional planning board gave final approval today to Governor Deval Patrick's plan to spend $9 million in federal stimulus money to build a footbridge over Route 1 near Gillette Stadium.

The elaborate bridge had drawn opposition because it connects two parking lots privately owned by Robert Kraft, chairman and chief executive officer of the New England Patriots. It bypassed the normal review process given to most regional highway projects that receive federal money.

The Patrick administration argued that the bridge is part of a larger effort to spend a portion of the stimulus money on a group of projects that could help create jobs and lure major corporations to the state, ultimately reaping larger economic rewards for the public. At the state's request, the Kraft Group spent $2 million on the state's environmental permitting process for a piece of property across from Gillette, which would benefit from the footbridge.

The land is one of a few sites in Massachusetts large enough to handle a headquarters or major research campus, according to
Greg Bialecki, the state's secretary of housing and economic development. It was initially referenced in a 1999 list of roadway and safety improvements the Legislature endorsed as a necessary public improvement for the site.

"For the last 10 years, the Kraft Group has spent $800 million in private investment" in the area, said Dan Krantz, director of site development for the company. "There's benefit to all."

FULL ENTRY

By Globe Staff

With anticipation building before the opening of a new "Twilight" movie, a Boston University religious scholar says that even today some Americans believe they're vampires.

Joseph P. Laycock, who wrote a book on the subject, "Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampirism," estimates there are several thousand such people in America today.

Laycock said the feeling these people have that they are vampires is neither a religion nor a mental illness. "We need a third box to put it in," he said.

"New Moon," the latest movie in the "Twilight" vampire saga opens tonight at midnight at selected area theatres.

Laycock discussed his work and the movies in a posting on the BU Today website.

John M. Guilfoil

The car suspected in the accident.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

LOWELL – An angry family called today for swift justice after a brazen hit and run seriously hurt a 12-year-old student as he walked to a friend’s home after school.

Kelvin Savanhmixay

Police said they had made “tremendous progress” in the investigation as officers seized a car in Methuen they believe struck and critically injured 12-year-old Kelvin Savanhmixay on Wednesday afternoon. The car -- a dark-blue Acura -- is believed to be one of two vehicles in a drag race down the VFW Parkway toward the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus when one car struck the boy.

The car was found in Methuen early today, Lowell Police Superintendent Ken Lavallee said during a news conference this morning.

He did not indicate who owned the car or whether the owner was being sought.

Outside the boy’s home on Union Street, family members told the Globe they were informed by police where the car was found. Someone, they said, tried to get the car repaired right after the accident. Family members said the shop’s owner called police when he grew suspicious.
Lowell police would not comment on how the car was found, saying the investigation was ongoing.

“We were just shocked,” said the victim’s stepfather, Danny Savanhmixay, 36. “What kind of human being would just run somebody over and take off like that? A kid, too. That could be anybody’s kid, brother, son, a human being. How do you just take off like nothing happened?”

FULL ENTRY

Amelia Hughes

The rescue took place 65 feet up.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

A cat that had been stuck 65 feet up a tree for three days was rescued today in Holliston.

Mark Vogel and Alan Johnson from the Animal Rescue League of Boston climbed the 75-foot tree to rescue the black cat, which Vogel surmised was chased into the tree by a dog.

The two-hour rescue was the second attempt to save the cat. Two rescue league workers had to call off a rescue last night on account of darkness, after the cat climbed higher out of their reach.

Vogel said the two men rigged a pulley system to raise Johnson up to the cat.

“The cat came right to him,” said Vogel, 40, of Dedham. “AJ put it in a cat carrier, brought it back down, and the owner was perfectly happy.”

FULL ENTRY

Addie Flisser

The owl checked things out from a perch on the big Christmas tree.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Faneuil Hall Marketplace has a new mascot.

An owl has made the shopping and dining district its new hooting grounds, hanging out for about a month. And it fits right in at the popular tourist trap -- people-watching, sampling the local fare, and even recently checking out the mall’s new 87-foot Christmas tree.

“He’s very friendly,” said Rebecca Stoddard, the marketing director for the mall. “He floats around and oversees everything. You can see his head moving as he actually watches everyone go by.”

FULL ENTRY

By Globe Staff

A Stoneham woman has won $10 million in a state lottery scratch ticket game.

Debra Roberto

“I’m handling it OK so far,” Debra A. Roberto said in a statement provided by the Massachusetts Lottery. “I’m planning one great Christmas, and I have my eye on a new car.”

Lottery officials said the lottery's first $10 million instant prize game was created two years ago and since then, 14 $10 million prizes have been awarded.

“It’s rewarding to see our players win record prizes in our ground-breaking games,” said Mark Cavanagh, the lottery's executive director.

Roberto, who will receive 20 annual checks for $500,000, bought the lucky Mega Cash ticket at Fast Freddy on Main Street in Wakefield, the lottery said.

Courtnay Janiak

A wreath made of Oriental bittersweet

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

It may sound like a Christmas movie crossed with a sci-fi thriller. But state officials are warning that alien invaders may be hidden in the holiday wreaths and garlands that many residents will be hanging in the next few weeks.

That's alien invasive plants, plants that aren't native to Massachusetts and that pose a risk of crowding out the normal plant life of the area.

The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs warned in a statement that two plants commonly used in wreaths and garlands could damage or kill other plants and trees.

Oriental bittersweet and multiflora rose are illegal to import or sell under Massachusetts law, as both cause severe environmental damage and disrupt the growth of native plants.

"Oriental bittersweet is known to kill mature trees through strangling, and multiflora rose can form impenetrable thickets that keep out native plants," the statement said.

FULL ENTRY

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Call them signs of tough economic times. Or are they signs of how federal stimulus funds are being misspent?

The state has spent tens of thousands of dollars on erecting the green-and-white signs proclaiming that road projects were funded with stimulus package money, prompting some to wonder whether there are better ways to spend the cash.

Signs proclaiming the funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are up at all stimulus highway projects across the state, state Department of Transportation spokesman Colin Durrant. There are 33 active projects and, typically, there are two signs per project, one for each side of the road. The signs cost an average of $2,000 each to produce.

"It is critically important that residents of Massachusetts know that stimulus dollars are being invested immediately to create new jobs and fix our roads," Durrant said in an e-mail.

FULL ENTRY

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

US Senate candidate Stephen Pagliuca this morning offered a pointed argument on health care, calling out his opponents by name as he claimed that he is the one who can best deliver the type of reform package that the late Edward M. Kennedy spent his life fighting for.

Stephen Pagliuca

“My two opponents in this race – Attorney General Martha Coakley and Congressman Michael Capuano – have failed to meet this test,” Pagliuca said at a press conference in downtown Boston. “They will not be a reliable 60th vote in favor of health care reform. ... Voters of Massachusetts deserve to know that their senator will stand up as a vital 60th vote to support health care reform.”

Pagliuca delivered his remarks on a platform with two poster-size placards beside him. One included quotations from the late Kennedy and his two sons, Ted Kennedy Jr. and Patrick Kennedy, suggesting health care reform shouldn’t get bogged down. The other placard had a depiction of the US Senate, with a question mark in the middle and “The 60th Vote?” written at the top.

FULL ENTRY

Globe video by John R. Ellement

State Treasurer Timothy Cahill, an independent candidate for governor, spars with Republican gubernatorial hopefuls, Charles Baker and Christy Mihos, over cutting local aid. The three made the first joint appearance of the 2010 campaign at the Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Westborough today.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

WESTBOROUGH -- A fight over local aid sparked the most intense debate today at the first joint appearance of the three candidates trying to defeat Governor Deval Patrick in next year's election.

State Treasurer Timothy Cahill urged lawmakers to explore cuts to the money sent to cities and town as a way to narrow the gaping budget gap on Beacon Hill.

"Everything has to be on the table," said Cahill, who left the Democratic Party to run as an independent. "Any one of us, given the fiscal crisis in the billions, that says anything is off the table … I don't think is actually being truthful."

The two candidates vying for the Republican nomination rejected Cahill's view. Christy Mihos and Charles Baker vowed never to cut local aid to balance the state budget.

FULL ENTRY