Local News Updates

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May 31, 2008

Motorcycle accident victim identified

John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

The man who died Friday afternoon in a motorcycle accident on the ramp from Haymarket Square to the tunnel to Logan International Airport was identified today by State Police as 19-year-old Christopher Maurer of Charlestown.

Around 2:15 p.m., Maurer lost control of his 2003 Honda CBR-600 motorcycle and crashed into a catwalk on the right shoulder of the roadway. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where he later died.

The crash is under investigation by State Police experts.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:17 PM | Comments (0)

Fire damages meat distribution business

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

An early morning fire today damaged the roof of Boston Lamb and Veal at Newmarket Square.

An electrical short circuit on the rooftop air conditioners at the meat distributor’s Southampton Street building sparked a two-alarm blaze at about 2:30 a.m., said Steve MacDonald, a Boston Fire Department spokesman.

MacDonald said firefighters were able to douse the fire quickly and limit damage, which he estimated at $200,000, to the roof only.

No one was injured. This latest fire came a day after a seven-alarm blaze destroyed the James Hook & Co. lobster warehouse and thousands of pounds of lobster.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:11 PM | Comments (0)

Investigators: Trolley in Green Line crash was going nearly 30 mph too fast

(Photo Courtesy Derek Carter)

Investigators say this signal on the tracks heading toward Woodlands station indicated that the ill-fated trolley should stop for a minute and proceed at a maximum speed of 10 mph.

By Tania deLuzuriaga, Globe Staff

A Green Line trolley that crashed into another trolley from behind on Wednesday in Newton was going nearly 30 miles per hour faster than it should have been going, a federal transportation safety official said today.

A red signal light should have indicated to the train operator, Terrese Edmonds, that she should stop for a minute and then proceed at 10 miles per hour or less, said Kitty Higgins, a National Transportation Safety Board member, who is the spokesman for the team investigating the crash.

But Edmonds's train was racing down the tracks at 37 to 38 miles per hour when it rear-ended the other trolley, which was going 3 to 4 miles per hour, Higgins said.

"The train left Waban (Station) at a rate of speed higher than what would have been authorized," said Higgins. "What we don't know yet is why that happened."

Higgins said investigators were planning to see during a reenactment of the ride tomorrow whether Edmonds's view of the signal had somehow been blocked.

The crash just before 6 p.m. on an idyllic section of the D branch of the Green Line killed Edmonds and sent seven other people to the hospital.

Higgins said Friday that there was no evidence that Edmonds had applied the brakes before the crash. She also said investigators had eliminated brake failure and track flaws as reasons for the crash, but were still reviewing human performance, signal systems, and visibility along the track.

She said today that testing of the signals had indicated that they were working properly.

The question of human error is looming larger as other causes have been eliminated.

Green Line trains are manually operated, with operators regulating their speed by observing signals along the line. "It's their responsibility to follow the signals," Higgins said.

Higgins also said the MBTA would be soliciting passengers on the trains to provide NTSB investigators with their eyewitness accounts of what happened.

Higgins said investigators had made no progress yet in looking into reports that Edmonds was talking on a cell phone while operating the train.

"I don't even know, to be honest with you, if there is a cell phone," she said.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:57 PM | Comments (0)

May 30, 2008

Man dies in downtown motorcycle accident

By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Correspondent

A man died today after he lost control of his motorcycle on the ramp from Haymarket Square leading to the tunnel to Logan International Airport, Massachusetts State Police said.

The man, whose name was not released pending family notification, lost control of his 2003 Honda CBR-600 motorcycle on the ramp around 2:15 p.m. and crashed into a catwalk on the right shoulder.

He was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was later declared dead, police said.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:07 PM | Comments (0)

Brakes, track ruled out as causes in Green Line crash

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Investigators probing the fatal trolley crash on the Green Line Wednesday have ruled out problems with the trolleys' brakes and problems with the track, but other factors still need further investigation, including the performance of the train operators and dispatcher, a federal transportation safety official said today.

"We've taken the brakes off the table... the track off the table, but the work is really just beginning in some of these other areas," said National Transportation Safety Board member Kitty Higgins, the spokeswoman for the team investigating the crash.

Higgins said a preliminary look also indicated there were no problems with the signal system, but those findings still needed to be confirmed by field testing.

The crash Wednesday evening on the D branch of the Green Line in Newton threw commuters from their seats and killed the operator of the rear trolley, Terrese Edmonds, 24, of Boston.

At a news conference near the crash site this afternoon to update the public on the progress of the investigation, Higgins also said the evidence suggested that Edmonds had not applied the brakes before the crash. Applying brakes leaves a telltale trail of sand on the tracks and investigators could not find such a trail, she said.

She said a small amount of sand had been found that indicated the brakes might have been applied right before the collision.

Based on recording equipment known as "fault loggers" on the two trolleys, Higgins said the speed of the rear trolley was 37 to 38 miles per hour, while the one in front was traveling only 3-4 miles per hour at the time of the collision. The speed limit for trolleys in the area is 40 mph.

Higgins said investigators today had interviewed a second crew member aboard the rear trolley and the dispatcher who was responsible for dispatching both trolleys. The two-member crew on the trolley that was hit will be interviewed today and Saturday, she said.

Officials will also investigate whether Edmonds was using a cell phone at the time of the crash, Higgins said.

“We are very aware that the issue of a cell phone has been raised, and we will chase that down,” she said. “Operators are not supposed to use cell phones while operating; they are supposed to use radios.”

The NTSB has not recovered a cell phone in its investigation, but she said it’s possible that investigators from the Middlesex district attorney’s office have recovered it "if there is one." The district attorney’s office, which is conducting a separate investigation, did not return calls.

Higgins said that the NTSB had not interviewed any passengers so far, but "I'm sure we would welcome hearing from people, if they want to contact us."

Investigators planned to reenact the crash Saturday or Sunday evening. Higgins said the reenactment will allow them a chance to "see what the operators of the train would have seen."

James Vaznis and David Abel of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:44 PM | Comments (0)

Owners vow to rebuild after blaze destroys landmark seafood business in Boston

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A landmark wholesale and retail seafood business on Boston's waterfront was destroyed early this morning by a seven-alarm fire, its wood and corrugated metal buildings going up in flames so fast that firefighters stationed across the street immediately called for reinforcements as they began trying to quell the blaze.

The fire at James Hook & Co. had likely been smoldering inside the three buildings for some time before erupting in flames at 3:20 a.m., said Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department. Fire officials have estimated damage at $5 million.

A pillar of smoke rose above the towering office buildings in the Financial District, filling the morning air with a burnt odor that could be detected for miles. The blaze devoured 60,000 pounds of lobster, which was valued at up to $9 a pound.

Edward Hook II told reporters his family plans to restart their business as soon as possible and that "friends'' in the industry have already reached out and offered help.

Just how the business would continue after the fire was an issue the family did not have any real time to focus on today.

After watching since about 4 a.m. as firefighters deluged the building with water, the family was in the parking lot this afternoon watching as cranes were brought in to demolish what was left.

"If I survived the Big Dig, I can survive anything. That was like hand-to-hand combat,'' Edward Hook told reporters. "We will set up a trailer, we will set up a tent. I don't know what we are going to do, but we will find a way. Once this mess is cleaned up, we will find a way.''

There were no reports of injuries. The cause is being investigated by the fire department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, MacDonald said.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Mayor Menino has reached out to the Hook family and the city was working today to try and help them start the rebuilding process, said mayor's spokeswoman Dot Joyce.

She said the city would see if they could provide office space at the Marine Industrial Park in South Boston for the Hook family so they could continue to operate their business while they push ahead with rebuilding plans.

Joyce said the mayor is committed to supporting the Hook family and to keeping their business in the downtown neighborhood where they are surrounded by high rise hotels and office buildings. "Hook Lobster is an institution in the city and he wants to help them rebuild,'' Joyce said of the mayor..

It took more than 135 firefighters and a dozen pieces of equipment several hours to knock down the blaze. The battle included firefighters in scuba gear on the harbor-side of the building spraying the flames with seawater. Other crews with hoses worked to keep the blaze from spreading to the adjacent pedestrian bridge.

The blaze forced the closure of Atlantic Avenue from Congress Street to the five-star Boston Harbor Hotel for several hours. By mid-morning the avenue had been reopened, but the Moakley Bridge was still closed to vehicular traffic.

MacDonald said the first alarm sounded at 3:23 a.m., the other alarms soon following as the fire moved swiftly and heavily along the west side of the building. The wooden building rested above Fort Point Channel on creosote-soaked timbers, which helped fuel the flames. It was too dangerous for firefighters to enter the building, MacDonald said.

The building contained rooms full of corrugated cardboard boxes used for shipping seafood.

James Hook & Co. has been in business since 1925, when the Hook brothers started trucking their catch of lobsters from Maine and Canada to Boston's fish piers and selling them directly to the city's top restaurants. The Atlantic Avenue business now ships 50,000 pounds of lobsters a day, according to its website.

Edward Hook II, who is one of the owners, rushed to the scene this morning from his home on the North Shore. He could see the smoke as he crossed the Zakim Bridge.

"I knew there was trouble, but when I got here it was pretty devastating," Hook said. "I'm in a fog."

(Photo by Anne Jarek)

Posted by dbeard at 5:30 PM | Comments (0)

Judge denies Entwistle's motion for change of venue

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

WOBURN -- A lawyer for Neil Entwistle argued today that the saturation media coverage of the killing of his wife and infant daughter has left only one place in Massachusetts where his client can get a fair trial: Martha's Vineyard.

But Middlesex Superior Court Judge Diane Kottmyer rejected the request for a change of venue to the island community and another motion arguing that the charges against Entwistle should be dropped altogether because of the intense media coverage.

Attorney Elliot Weinstein said at a hearing this morning that the double murder trial should be moved to the insular community of Edgartown.

"The preceding interest in the case has consumed all media locally, nationally, and internationally," said Weinstein. "There has not been any reporting that concludes anything but that Neil Entwistle committed these brutal murders."

But a Middlesex prosecutor argued successfully that Entwistle could receive a fair trial in Middlesex County and said pretrial publicity wasn't in itself a reason to dismiss the charges.

Jury selection in the high-profile case is expected to begin Monday. The trial is expected to last a month.

Entwistle is charged in the January 2006 slaying of his wife, Rachel, 27, and his 9-month-old daughter, Lillian Rose, who were found shot to death lying in bed at their Hopkinton home. Entwistle, a British citizen, fled the country to England but was arrested there in February 2006 and extradited to the United States.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)

Residents at fire-ravaged Peabody complex may return today

By Erin S. Ailworth, Globe Staff

Hundreds of residents of the high-end Peabody apartment complex evacuated last night following a massive fire in one of the buildings may be allowed back into their homes today, city and management company officials said today at a meeting at City Hall.

"Most of you will be able to get back into your units this afternoon," Spencer Welton, an official at Simpson Housing, an arm of the company that manages the Highlands at Dearborn complex, told a large group of residents.

Residents were asked to call a hotline at 978-535-3994 to check the status of their buildings.

The 18-building complex was completely evacuated late last night, while firefighters battled a blaze that burned Building 8 -- which contained 36 units -- to the ground. About 750 people were temporarily displaced.

At the meeting this afternoon, some residents questioned whether it was safe to return home, while others asked repeatedly how to locate missing pets or get their hands on necessary medications.

After the meeting, the Red Cross worked with the residents to find temporary lodgings, food, and replacement clothes. Less than a dozen residents ended up using a shelter set up at Salem State College last night, and Red Cross officials said they expected to close that shelter today.

"It's hard. I lost everything," Jessica Squeglia, one of 43 residents of Building 8, said as she waited in line for aid. "I have to figure out my finances, find another place to stay -- because I can't stay in a hotel forever."

Fire Chief Steven Pasdon said investigators are focusing on three areas of interest as they seek to determine the cause of the fire but declined to say what they were. Pasdon said Thursday that investigators were looking at a gas main as a possible cause.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:52 PM | Comments (0)

Sudbury 19-year-old hailed as rescuer in Green Line crash

(Pool Photo)

Papapietro meeting with Perry today.

By David Abel and James Vaznis, Globe Staff

A 19-year-old Sudbury man who is an intern with the Red Sox is being praised today for comforting a woman who was trapped in the twisted wreckage of a trolley during Wednesday's crash on the Green Line in Newton.

Ben Papapietro, a sophomore at the University of Arizona, is credited with helping Min Perry, 37, of Wellesley, who was sitting in the seat behind trolley driver Terrese Edmonds, the lone fatality in the crash.

Papapietro can be heard comforting Perry on a 911 tape released today by the MBTA Transit Police.

"You're fine. You're going to be fine, I promise," Papapietro tells Perry.

Papapietro said he was in the rear car of the two-car trolley that slammed into the back of another trolley. He said he ran out, but heard screaming and ran back in.

"I didn't want her to die. It was the most helpless feeling in my life," he said today in an interview at Transit Police headquarters.

"He kept saying, 'Stay with me, stay with me, stay with me,'" Min Perry told the Globe yesterday from her room at Boston Medical Center.

With a brush fire breaking out near the train, Perry said, Papapietro offered her a cotton shirt to cover her mouth. All the other passengers had left the train, she said.

"He was basically risking his own life," she said. "You had smoke and fire behind me."

The 911 tape appears to capture the moment. Papapietro says, "Breathe through it. OK, deep breaths for me. OK? Deep breaths."

Perry can also be heard thanking Papapietro and asking where the firemen are.

"You on the trolley?" the dispatcher asks.

"Yeah, I'm on the train right now," Papapietro responds.

"You did a good job, pal," the gruff dispatcher's voice says.

"Thank you very much, sir," Papapietro replies.

Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan praised Papapietro. "I think we cloud the definition of hero today. But under any definition, he's a hero," MacMillan said.

It took firefighters about 20 minutes and several attempts to free Perry. They ultimately used a special excavation device to pry open the crumpled car enough to pull her out. Perry's sneakers were soaked with blood when she was pulled out. She remains hospitalized with a broken ankle.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:47 PM | Comments (0)

After drunken driving arrest, bankruptcy judge agrees to leave

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

US Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Somma, who resigned after his arrest on a drunken driving charge in February and then tried to rescind his resignation, will not be coming back, federal court officials said this afternoon.

"The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and Judge Robert Somma have agreed that he will not resume service on the United States Bankruptcy Court for Massachusetts but is leaving to pursue other endeavors," the Office of the Circuit Executive said in a one-paragraph statement. "The court appreciates the service that Judge Somma has rendered."

Somma's case generated headlines because he was wearing a dress when he was arrested in Manchester, N.H., on Feb. 6. He was supposed to resign as of May 15.

But Somma expressed second thoughts in a letter to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly posted online April 1, and more than 200 bankruptcy lawyers signed a letter urging the court to let him return.

Over the past two weeks, neither the circuit executive's office nor Somma's lawyer would discuss his status or even say whether he was still a judge.

Asked this afternoon about the terms of the agreement, Susan Goldberg, deputy circuit executive, said in an e-mail message that both sides had "come to an understanding that is agreeable to the court and to Judge Somma." She gave no further details.

Somma’s lawyer, Robert B. Carpenter, said he could not comment on the agreement and that "we may have our own statement to come out next week." He declined to elaborate.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:36 PM | Comments (0)

Black bear shot near Worcester highway

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A 200-pound black bear was shot and killed by state Environmental Police near Interstate 290 in Worcester during rush hour this morning, officials said.

Worcester Police called the Environmental Police around 7 a.m. to report the bear near a factory complex near I-290.

By the time Environmental Police arrived, the bear had moved to a triangle of woods surrounded by I-290, Route 12, and the ramp connecting the two.

Environmental Police attempted to temporarily paralyze the bear to relocate it to a better habitat, while state and city police surrounded the area. When the bear ran toward the highway, posing a potential danger to motorists, an Environmental Police officer shot it, officials said.

“What we try and do in this situation nearly always is immobilize the bear and move it to a place that’s more appropriate. Being wildlife, that does not always happen,” said Lisa Capone, spokesman for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Jim Cardoza, a state wildlife biologist who was at the scene, said he thinks the bear was the same one that people in nearby areas have reported sighting recently.

The number of black bears, the only bears that make their home in Massachusetts, has been increasing over the years: There were about 100 in Massachusetts in 1970s; the state contained about 3,000 in 2005, according to the latest data available, according to the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

Cardosa said people shouldn’t worry, though.

“Bears are very tolerant of people, most of the time,” he said.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:03 PM | Comments (0)

Suspect wounded by police to face charges

By Globe Staff

A 23-year-old Boston man who was shot in the arm by police on Boston Common Thursday faces an assault with a dangerous weapon charge, police said today.

Shawn Craig pointed what appeared to be a gun in the direction of an officer who had chased him on foot through the urban park at about 6:47 p.m., police said this morning. The officer ordered Craig to drop the gun and he refused. The officer then fired.

It turned out that the weapon was a pellet gun that was a replica of a semi-automatic pistol, police said in a statement.

Craig was taken to Boston Medical Center and arrested on an outstanding warrant on a drug charge. Police said they would also charge him with assault with a dangerous weapon and other charges.

The shooting is being probed by the department's firearm discharge investigative team and the Suffolk district attorney's office. The officer is out injured until medically cleared to return to duty, police said.

Posted by mfinucane at 1:09 PM | Comments (0)

May 29, 2008

Police shoot man brandishing pistol replica on Boston Common

By Jillian Jorgensen and Sarah Gantz, Globe Correspondents

Boston Police say an officer shot a man in the arm on Boston Common this evening after he pointed what appeared to be a gun at police.

The man was brandishing a replica of a black semi-automatic handgun, Superintendent Bruce Holloway said at a news conference.

Police and probation officers were in the area conducting "threshold inquiries" -- interviewing people who seemed as if they might be involved in criminal activity, Officer Eddy Chrispin, a police spokesman, said.

During an interview at around 6:45 p.m., the man ran away, Holloway said.

Police ordered him to stop, but he did not. Then he turned around with what appeared to be a gun in his hand. Police told him to drop it and he did not. An officer shot the man, Holloway said.

The man was transported to Boston Medical Center with a non-life-threatening wound to his arm, Chrispin said.

The shooting happened at a time when the urban park was busy with people heading home from work or heading out on the town.

Daniel Villegas, 37, of South Boston said he saw a man in his 20s with a sling on his arm talking to officers, then "he just took off."

Villegas said he saw officers chase the young man to the Tremont Street edge of the Common, then heard a shot, and saw blood on the man's white shirt.

Posted by mfinucane at 8:54 PM | Comments (0)

Trolley operator killed in crash remembered as high-spirited, a dreamer

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

She wanted to pursue a career in accounting, and driving a Green Line trolley for the MBTA was a way to get there. The job paid well and gave her flexible hours, so she could attend classes at Roxbury Community College.

Terrese Edmonds

Terrese Edmonds, who loved reading novels and listening to Jay-Z, never felt unsafe driving her D branch trolley. Today, her close-knit family in Roxbury was in mourning, trying to understand how a woman who they said was a careful driver died when the trolley she was operating slammed into another trolley in Newton on Wednesday.

‘‘She’s one of the best drivers I’ve ever known,’’ said Alison Crumb, a 24-year-old cousin whom Edmonds picked up and drove back from Temple University in Philadelphia on Saturday. ‘‘I don’t know what happened there. The girl could drive.’’

As federal investigators tried to determine what caused the crash, Edmonds’ relatives and friends consoled one another with recollections of a funny, outgoing woman who worked hard to make a better life for herself.

Edmonds, 24, lived in the apartment where she grew up with an older brother, an older sister, and her mother in a circular complex in Roxbury. She was also close to her father, Terry Jones, who lives in the neighborhood. As a child, she played hopscotch, four square, and hide-and-seek with her siblings and cousins in the complex’s courtyard. Among friends, she was known for cracking jokes.

‘‘She could find comedy in everything,’’ Crumb said. ‘‘When we were young, we would tell her, ‘Stop laughing! What are you laughing at?’’’

Edmonds went to Agassiz Elementary School in Jamaica Plain, Wilson Middle School in Dorchester and Lewis Middle School in Roxbury. She went on to South Boston High School but dropped out in 10th grade.

For a time, Edmonds did clerical work in an office at her apartment complex, Warren Gardens, relatives said. Then she set her sights on a job with the MBTA and completed her high school diploma, which is required of all trolley operators.

In August, she got the job, completed a seven-week training program, and passed a test showing she knew how to operate a trolley and read track signals. On Oct. 7, she started driving on the Green Line.

‘‘We were all very happy for her when she got the job,’’ Crumb said. ‘‘She went for it, she worked for it, and she got it.’’

Jones said his daughter wanted the job because she told him, ‘‘Daddy, I want to be independent,’’ and the T was a way to make her dream possible. Just recently, he said, she went from working for the T part-time to driving full-time, Monday to Friday.

‘‘She didn’t have problems at the job, she told me she liked the job, and she said, ‘Things are looking up for me, Daddy,’’’ Jones said yesterday. ‘‘And I told her to hang in there with the job — it’s a good job with decent benefits — and just hang in there.’’

She was never far from family, even during the workweek. Jones took lunches to his daughter on her breaks. Edmonds’ brother, Leon, greeted her when she came home after work.

‘‘She’s funny, she’s goofy, and I love her,’’ Leon Edmonds, 30, told reporters outside the family’s apartment today. ‘‘She just makes everything around brighten up when she comes around.’’

Crumb said her cousin had been planning this summer to work for the MBTA and continue her studies at Roxbury Community College.

‘‘She was just trying to better her life,’’ Crumb said. ‘‘She wanted good things.’’

Crumb recalled taking long car trips with her cousin, to Pittsburgh and other places. Registry records show Edmonds had a clean driving record except for one accident in Dorchester in January 2004, when she caused more than $1,000 in damage and was found to be more than 50 percent at fault. Registry officials said details of the accident were not immediately available.

On Saturday, Edmonds drove Crumb back from Temple, where she is studying magazine journalism. But they did not head straight to Roxbury. Instead, they stopped in New York to take in the sights. They saw Harlem, and ate cheesecake at Junior’s in Brooklyn, a borough which Edmonds made sure they visited because it was where Jay-Z grew up.

Yesterday, Crumb spoke in the kitchen of her family’s apartment, directly across the courtyard from where Edmonds lived. In the hall were her suitcases from college. Her mother, Naomi Crumb, was also at home, showing off a photo of Edmonds in the hallway.

‘‘I woke up this morning and thought of Scripture — you can’t enter the kingdom of heaven unless you become like a child,’’ Naomi Crumb, who is Edmonds’ aunt, said, her cheeks streaked with tears. ‘‘She was always bubbly as a child.’’

Alison Crumb said she talked last to Edmonds on Wednesday at 2 p.m., when she called her on a break just to say hello and ‘‘tease her,’’ as she often did. Only a few hours later, she learned that her cousin had died.

‘‘We’re going to miss her so much,’’ Alison Crumb said. ‘‘It’s like a part of our crew is gone now.’’

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.

Posted by mfinucane at 8:48 PM | Comments (0)

Four-alarm fire rages at Peabody apartment complex; hundreds evacuated

(Jonathon Whitmore for The Boston Globe)

Watching the blaze from a safe vantage point.

By Erin S. Ailworth, Globe Staff

A four-alarm fire engulfed a luxury apartment building near the intersection of Route 1 and Route 128 in Peabody this afternoon. No injuries were reported, but all the buildings in the surrounding complex were ordered evacuated for the night, displacing 900 to 1,000 people, fire officials said.

The fire, whipped by the wind, raced through a 26-unit building at the Highlands at Dearborn complex as firefighters struggled with water pressure problems, said Fire Chief Steven Pasdon.

Pasdon said no cause had been officially determined for the blaze, but fire officials were investigating whether it had been caused by a natural gas leak.

Orange flames whipped by the wind could be seen tearing through the building late this afternoon. A blizzard of ashes flew through the air, sometimes igniting small fires in the mulch used to landscape the grounds. Black smoke billowed, while firefighters trained a hose on the blaze.

Ben Bellucci pointed to the burned-out top level of the building and said, "That's my bedroom right there. It's where you can see right through."

He said a roommate had called to tell him the building was being evacuated. When he asked if he could get his personal belongings, his roommate said it was already too late.

John Croke, 55, watched the building burn from a safe vantage point in the woods at the edge of the complex. He said his building, adjacent to the one on fire, had been evacuated.

"I got my cats out an hour ago, with the help of the firemen," he said. "The apartment was totally filled with smoke."

Croke said he learned about the fire when a friend called him at work in Beverly. "They told me they saw my apartment complex going up in flames," he said.

Pasdon said there were some reports of pets having been trapped in the blaze.

Smoke from the fire, which broke out about 4 p.m., was visible from miles away. People stopped by the side of Interstate 95, snapping pictures with their cellphone cameras.

Mira Muniz, 28, a resident of the complex, had taken refuge at a restaurant off of nearby Route 1. She said she was at work when her mother and father called her about the fire.

Her building wasn't hit by the fire, but it was filled with smoke so she was going to relocate to her parents' home in New Hampshire.

She said there was a harrowing moment when she went back to pack up some belongings.

"It's smoky in there and when I was gathering up clothes and stuff they shut off the power," she said.

Aerial footage showed a large, cream-colored four-story building gradually burning down to the ground.

Highlands at Dearborn is a luxury apartment complex with amenities including a swimming pool and business center, according to its website.

The property is managed by Simpson Property Group, which did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The apartment complex includes one-, two-, and three-bedroom units which lease for up to $2,107 each month.

The complex offers "High Style... High Speed ... High Life," according to the website.

A woman who answered the phone at the Highlands at Dearborn local office late this afternoon said, "Oh, I'm sorry. No comment," and then hung up.

The Daily Item of Lynn reported today on its website that a fire at the complex on March 8, 2007 destroyed two apartments in a three-story building and required evacuation of residents from 22 units.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:31 PM | Comments (0)

American Airlines drops fee for curbside check-in service

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

American Airlines today agreed to drop a controversial $2-per-bag fee for curbside check-in service at airports throughout the country and to lift a ban on tips for skycaps at Logan International Airport in the face of public criticism and lawsuits.

In exchange, American skycaps at Logan agreed to drop a federal claim accusing the airline of imposing the tips ban on May 1 in retaliation for their recent victory in a lawsuit. On April 7, a jury in US District Court in Boston awarded a group of nine skycaps more than $325,000 for tips they lost when the airline implemented the curbside baggage fee in September 2005.

The agreement, which lawyers for both sides hashed out in the corridor of the federal courthouse to avoid a court hearing on the tips ban, buoyed several skycaps who claimed their income has plunged both because of the $2 baggage fee and the prohibition on gratuities.

"I feel vindicated," said Don DiFiore, an American skycap at Logan since 1983. "We've gotten rid of the $2-a-bag charge and we're going to have some language on the sign [at the curb] saying tipping is allowed now."

But other skycaps said they believed American granted the concessions, which take effect by June 15, after doing some simple math.

Struggling to make money amid record-high fuel prices, the world's largest airline announced last week that, as of June 15, it will start charging many customers traveling in domestic coach class $15 to check in a piece of luggage, either inside the terminal or at the curb. The first-bag fee follows another recent action by the airline to join the new industry trend of charging anyone who is not among the most loyal or lucrative customers $25 to check a second piece of luggage.

"They're making seven times as much" with the new $15 fee than the airline did with the $2 fee, said Tony Pasuy, another longtime American Airlines skycap. "Why do they need to nickel and dime the passengers when they're making seven times as much?"

He and the other skycaps were concerned that the much higher new fees will still leave them with less in tips than they used to make.

The agreement also does not address whether skycaps at Logan will get to keep raises in their hourly wages that the airline pledged after imposing a ban on tips.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:14 PM | Comments (0)

Transcript of 911 call

By Globe Staff

Here's the transcript of the emergency call made by a Newton resident after Wednesday's fatal trolley crash on the D Line:

Dispatcher: 911, this call's recorded

Caller: Yes, I have an emergency behind my house. The train, it hit somebody, another train, and there's a fire started

Dispatcher: A train? What's the address you're calling me ...

Caller: Dorset Road. It's right behind my house. The T is on fire, the Green Line, the D line

Dispatcher: The D line's on fire?

Caller: Yes, yes, and there are people hurt.

Dispatcher: And two trains collided?

Caller: Yes, two trains collided and …Hurry up, people are hurt.

Dispatcher: I'm going to start people over, ma'am. I want you to stay on the phone, okay?

Caller: Okay, yep.

Caller yelling out: I just called someone. Hello?

Dispatcher: All right, can you tell how many people are hurt, ma'am?

Caller yelling out: Hello? Hello, hi?

Dispatcher: It's behind the house.

Caller: I don't know, but two trains are smashed together

Dispatcher: Two trains are smashed together?

Caller: Yes, yes, and people are very hurt. I can see… and one train's on fire.

Dispatcher: And you can't tell me people are hurt?

Caller: I can't, nobody's answering me.

Caller to someone in the background: No I don't want to…

Dispatcher: And it's behind your house?

Caller: Yes, 67 Dorset. Go down Locke Road, you can come right out, we can let you right out.

Dispatcher: All right, my partner's sending the fire department down. I need as much information from you as possible, okay?

Caller: Yep, I'm sorry. I'm going to open up the screen. I don't know how much I'll be able to see. Hold on, I'm going down.

Dispatcher: Are you on a cordless phone, ma'am?

Caller: Yep, you might lose me, I'm trying.

Dispatcher: All right, just do the best you can. Okay, what's your phone number?

...

Caller: Wow, it's bad.

Dispatcher: Do you know how many people are hurt?

Caller: I can't, I can't see over…

Dispatcher: All right, I'm going to let you go, ma'am. If you get any more information, give us a call back, okay?

Caller: All right.

Dispatcher: Thank you.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:22 PM | Comments (0)

Happy birthday, Smoke!

Posted by aryan at 4:20 PM | Comments (0)

Two Mass. spellers advance to national bee quarterfinals

(Scripps National Spelling Bee)

By Globe Staff

Two Massachusetts spellers made it to the quarterfinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee today.

Mallika Govindan of Lancaster, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Luther Burbank Middle School, and Akshat Shekhar of West Roxbury, a 12-year-old eighth-grader at Roxbury Latin School, advanced, a spelling bee spokesman said.

In the quarterfinals, Govindan incorrectly spelled "pergola," a type of arbor, while Shekhar correctly spelled "regelate," a scientific term for the refreezing of ice, according to results posted on the spelling bee Web site.

About 100 people will participate in the quarterfinals, which are being aired this afternoon on ESPN360.com. Forty to 50 will advance to the semifinals, which begin Friday morning, and about a dozen will compete in the finals Friday night, said Greg Touney, a staff member on the press desk of the bee.

Govindan is being sponsored by the Sentinel & Enterprise of Fitchburg. Shekhar is being sponsored by the Patriot Ledger of Quincy.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:30 PM | Comments (0)

Investigation begins into fatal crash on Green Line

By Noah Bierman, Ralph Ranalli, and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

NEWTON -- Investigators have begun their probe into Wednesday's fatal trolley crash on the Green Line in Newton by examining the signals along the track, taking measurements, and seeking documentation from various sources, a federal safety official said this afternoon.

A team from the National Transportation Safety Board expects to begin interviewing people involved in the crash tomorrow, said Kitty Higgins, a safety board member who is being joined by 11 other investigators at the site.

"Our job here is to work with MBTA officials and others to determine what caused this accident and to then form recommendations that will help to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future," Higgins said at a news conference today in Newton.

The crash just before 6 p.m. yesterday on the D branch between the Waban and Woodland stations threw commuters from their seats and killed an MBTA operator. Officials say one trolley rear-ended another.

The investigators will look at a variety of factors, including the signals, the track, the trolleys, and "human performance," Higgins said.

Related Fatal crash on Green Line Recent Green Line accidents Interactive graphic Trolley crash Gallery Photos from the crash Gallery User-submitted photos Were you there? Send photos Map Location of crash Multimedia Audio Listen to the 911 call Video Investigation begins into crash Video The Newton crash scene Video First train was stopped at red light when struck Video NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson Video Operator's father waits for news

The federal team will be in Newton for at least a week, said state Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen. The first trolley was removed from the tracks this morning. The second has been left in place.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will not release any information about the operator killed in the crash, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. The father of the operator identified her as Terrese Edmonds, 24, of Boston, who had been on the job since August. Rescuers early this morning extricated her body from the wreckage about seven hours after the crash. A medical examiner had declared her dead at the scene.

Earlier, Terry Jones recalled how he used to bring his daughter lunches during her break, saying: "She loves the T. She said she was having a lot of fun and meeting a lot of interesting people."

Higgins said 180 to 200 passengers were aboard the two trolleys at the time of the crash. She said she didn't know the speed of the trolleys, but the limit in the area is 40 m.p.h. The damaged trolley will be moved from the tracks so it can be examined, she said.

"If there's any need for an immediate corrective action, we willl certainly be making those recommendations to the MBTA," Higgins said, reassuring riders that the system is safe.

"This is an accident that's a very rare occurrence. I think people should have confidence in the system," she said. She also said that the emergency response by local police and fire departments was "very good."

This morning, Edmonds's aunt, Naomi Crumb, showed off pictures on her wall in Roxbury of her smiling niece. "She was a very sweet, bubbly person," Crumb said. "She laughed at everything."

In the hall were suitcases from a trip Edmonds took last weekend to pickup Crumb's daughter at college in Philadelphia.

"I woke up this morning and thought of Scripture -- you can't enter the kingdom of heaven unless you become like a child," said Crumb, whose cheeks were streaked with tears. "She was always bubbly as a child."

The accident resulted in one passenger being flown to Boston Medical Center with serious injuries, Pesaturo said. Six others were taken by ambulance to nearby Newton-Wellesley Hospital with serious injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Five passengers were treated at the scene for cuts and bruises. Others walked away, some bleeding, only to wander into hospitals on their own.

Passengers on the train described how the routine of an evening commute was disrupted by the crash and transformed into fear and chaos.

The pair of two-car trolleys were heading outbound from Boston, near the end of the D branch. The first trolley was stopped at a red signal, just before Woodland Station. It was hit from behind by the second. Edmonds was at the front of the second trolley, which bore the brunt of the impact.

"We were stopped, and all of a sudden we got hit from behind," said Matt Stone, 46, an accounting manager from Framingham who was sitting in the first car of the first trolley, on his way to pick up his car at the Riverside Station. "There was no warning, nothing. There were two separate impacts: The first knocked me off my seat; the next knocked me across the aisle."

"It was like an accordion -- the two front ends squished together," said Joyce Friedman, a resident of Dorset Road, which is along the tracks, who witnessed the accident's aftermath.

One woman who was standing "got thrown back about 20 feet," said Frank Lam, a commuter from Natick who was on the same trolley as Stone.

Stone said there was chaos briefly.

"There was a 70-year-old guy who went ballistic screaming at the conductor, 'You killed my wife! You killed my wife!' And the wife is going, 'I'm OK! I'm OK,'" he said.

Lam said passengers were initially shocked and urged each other to wait for help. But then they saw a fire behind them, which turned out to be a small brush fire, and they rushed off the trolley. Lam walked back to the second trolley and saw blood on the seats. Then he saw Edmonds.

"The whole cabin wrapped around her," he said. "All I saw was a T blue shirt."

Lam was among many passengers who were able to walk away on their own, getting their cars at nearby stations.

Daniel A. Grabauskas, MBTA general manager, extended his condolences from the T to Edmonds's family and he wished a quick recovery to the injured during a press conference at 1:15 this morning.

"It's a miracle more people were not hurt," he said. He declined to discuss specifics of the crash.

After the crash, rescue workers had clustered around the smashed trolley cars, helping injured people onto stretchers. Others worked feverishly to try to free Edmonds.

Several witnesses were surprised that so many people walked away unharmed.

Jack Condon, 74, a resident of Dorset Road, said: "I was going for a walk and I heard a crash and I said, 'Uh-oh, this is a bad one.' And then I heard what I thought were a couple of explosions, or at least they sounded like they were explosions."

He said he thought it might be a car accident on nearby Route 128, and then he saw "all the ambulances, and that's when I knew it was a train."

Steve Cadrain, who also lives nearby, said he ran down to the accident site, jumped a fence, and boarded one of the trolleys.

"I went on the train," he said. "There was one woman who was bleeding."

He said he saw a female conductor walking off the trolley, "looking for a friend." He said he thought she might have been looking for another operator.

Friedman, also a neighborhood resident, said neighbors offered to open up their houses to victims, but none took advantage of the offer.

The MBTA shut down part of the D branch after the crash, offering shuttle bus service between Reservoir and Riverside stations. The T expects that busing will continue through today between the Newton Highlands and Riverside stops.

Workers were still clearing debris from the tracks early this morning.

"This is a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to the family of Ms. Edmonds," Newton Mayor David Cohen said.

The accident occurred only one day after two subway stations on the Red Line were evacuated when a small electrical fire broke out on tracks just outside Downtown Crossing, creating a major disruption for commuters.

The Green Line has seen several other accidents in recent months. A trolley on the B branch derailed and caught fire on May 14 on Commonwealth Avenue near Chestnut Hill Avenue, disrupting service and damaging the trolley and track but resulting in no injuries.

In February, a passenger was injured when a trolley collided with a truck on the B branch at Commonwealth Avenue near Cummington Street. In December, a trolley crashed into another at Boylston Station, leaving nine people with minor injuries.

In September, a trolley and a flatbed truck collided near Coolidge Corner, leaving the truck driver and three passengers with minor injuries.

James Vaznis, Michael Levenson, Rachana Rathi, and Martin Finucane of the Globe staff and Globe correspondents Jillian Jorgensen, John Guilfoil, and Matt Collette contributed to this report.

Posted by aryan at 2:19 PM | Comments (0)

A frantic 911 call: 'I have an emergency behind my house'

By Globe Staff

A woman who lives in the Newton neighborhood where two Green Line trolleys crashed Wednesday made a frantic call to Newton police, telling them two trains had "smashed together" and "people are very hurt."

"I have an emergency behind my house. A train hit somebody -- another train -- and there's a fire started," she said in a two-minute 911 tape released today by the Newton police.

"Hurry up, people are hurt," she said.

The dispatcher who answered the phone assured her that he was sending help and tried to get more information from her on the number of people injured.

"I'm going to start people over, ma'am. I want you to stay on the phone there," he said.

She then took a cordless phone and tried for a closer look, reporting a few seconds later, "Wow, it's bad."

The operator of one of the two trolleys that crashed on the D branch of the Green Line at about 6 p.m. Wednesday was killed. One passenger was flown to Boston Medical Center with serious injuries. Six others were taken by ambulance to nearby Newton-Wellesley Hospital with serious injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Five passengers were treated at the scene for cuts and bruises, officials have said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)

Donkey, 40, struck and killed by car on Cape

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A 40-year-old donkey named Genevieve was struck and killed early this morning by a car on Route 6A after it escaped from a farm in East Sandwich.

Dick Loring kept Genevieve as a pet at Wingscorton Farm, which is on Route 6A a few hundred feet from where Genevieve was struck. Sandwich police called Loring at 1 a.m. and broke the news.

“It was so sad," Loring said in a telephone interview. “She was just a little love.”

Sandwich police said they were too busy this morning to discuss the crash. Loring said the driver of the car was not injured.

Genevieve and a horse she shared her pen with were both able to open the locks on their gate, but rarely left the enclosure, Loring said. The horse stayed in the pen this morning when Genevieve apparently went for a walk.

The Wingscorton Farm was founded in the 1750s by the Wing family, and Loring said he bought it in 1980 and operates it as a bed and breakfast. Genevieve moved to the farm 20 years ago. Loring said he sells eggs and also keeps ducks, chickens, sheep, and goats.

Posted by aryan at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)

May 28, 2008

Trolley operator dies after collision in Newton

By Noah Bierman, Ralph Ranalli, and James Vaznis, Globe Staff

A trolley car on the D branch of the Green Line in Newton smashed into another car from behind this afternoon, injuring multiple people. The operator of one of the trolleys was trapped and died, her father told the Globe this evening.

The operator was Terrese Edmonds of South Boston, said her father, Terry Jones. Edmonds, 24, had been on the job since August, he said.

"My daughter died. I'm sorry I have to go," he said in a brief telephone interview.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said one two-car trolley rear-ended the second as both headed westbound, away from Boston. Both cars were derailed by the crash.

The collision occurred at about 6 p.m. on the way into the Woodland station. The trolley that was rear-ended was just emerging from a scheduled stop-light when it was hit from behind, he said. The operator who was trapped was the one in the trolley in the rear, Pesaturo said.

Six people were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, one was Medflighted to Boston Medical Center, and five were treated and released at the scene, said Pesaturo.

Frank Lam, 41, of Natick was commuting home from his computer job in the frontmost trolley.

"Basically, what happened is we were at a stop, and we just got plowed into by second train," he said.

He said a few people were thrown around at the time of the impact, but "for the most part everybody was able to walk off the train."

He said he went to the trolley behind to see if he could help and found one woman trapped but conscious, "wedged into a corner," and then went out to the front of the trolley and saw through an opening a blue shirt that appeared to belong to the train operator.

"All I saw was a T blue shirt. It looked like her back or something," he said.

Aerial pictures of the scene shown by local TV stations showed smashed trolley cars, rescue vehicles clustering at the scene, and injured people being placed on stretchers.

The footage also showed rescue workers gathering around the front of one smashed car.

Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the federal agency is sending 10 investigators to probe the crash. They are expected to produce a final report in 12 to 18 months.

“Any time there’s an accident of this nature and this seriousness, where the commuter trains have actually collided with each other, that’s a very substantial safety issue and we need to understand how that happened," Knudson said in a telephone interview.

Matt Stone, 46, an accounting manager from Framingham, was also sitting in the frontmost trolley, on his way to pick up his car at the Riverside station at the tail end of the same commute he has made for the past 3 years.

“We were stopped and all of a sudden we got hit from behind and there was no warning, nothing,” Stone said. “There was two separate impacts: the first knocked me off my seat, the next knocked me across the aisle.”

Stone was lightly bruised. Most of the 20 to 25 people on his train were not seriously injured, but a few appeared to be badly hurt, he said.

“One woman hit her face on the seat and had blood from a cut on her nose,” Stone said. “There was a 70-year-old old guy who went ballistic screaming at the conductor, ‘You killed my wife! You killed my wife!’ And the wife is going, ‘I’m OK! I’m OK.’”

After the crash, “Somebody started saying, ‘The train behind is on fire, and we got to get outta here,’” Stone said. The passengers got off, briefly got on another train that was facing the opposite direction, then got off that train because it was stuck behind the crash, and walked along the tracks to the Riverside Station.

Jack Condon, 74, a Dorset Road resident, said, "I was going for a walk and I heard a crash and I said 'Uh-oh, this is a bad one' and then I heard what I thought were a couple of explosions, or at least they sounded like they were explosions."

He said he thought it might be a car accident on the nearby highway and then he saw "all the ambulances, and that's when I knew it was a train."

Steve Cadrain, a neighborhood resident, said he ran down to the accident site, jumping a fence and boarded one of the damaged trolleys.

"I went on the train, there was virtually no blood. There was one woman who was bleeding."

He said he saw a female conductor walking off the trolley, "looking for a friend." He said he thought she might have been looking for the operator who was trapped in the front part of the trolley.

Joyce Friedman, also a neighborhood resident, said neighbors offered to open up their houses to victims, but none of them took advantage of the offer.

"It was a huge, huge crash. It sounded like an explosion," she said. "I thought it was an enormous truck crash on Beacon Street. We never think of the Green Line running behind our houses."

"It was like an accordion, the two front ends squished together," she said.

The line has been shut down in the area, and shuttle bus service is running between Reservoir and Riverside, the MBTA announced on its website.

Michael Levenson and Rachana Rathi of the Globe staff contributed to this report, along with Globe correspondents John M. Guilfoil, Jill Jorgensen, and Matt Collette.

Posted by mfinucane at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)

Defrocked priest Shanley seeks new trial

(Charles Krupa/Globe Staff)

Shanley listened intently during his 2005 trial.

By Globe Staff

Defrocked priest Paul R. Shanley, a notorious figure in the clergy sex abuse scandal who was convicted in 2005 on rape and sexual assault charges, has filed a motion for a new trial, the Middlesex district attorney's office said today.

A hearing on the motion is slated for tomorrow afternoon in Suffolk Superior Court, prosecutors said.

Shanley was convicted in February 2005 in Middlesex Superior Court of raping and fondling a Sunday school student in the 1980s. He was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

The victim, a firefighter who was 27 years old at the time of the trial, said he repressed memories of abuse by Shanley for nearly two decades before recalling them after news reports several years before the trial.

Shanley's lawyer said he is arguing in his motion that "repressed memory" evidence should not have been allowed into the trial.

"The central issue concerns the fact that there is no scientific support, no empirical support for repressed memory, and it never should have been entered into evidence," said Robert F. Shaw Jr.

"It doesn't really matter who it is that comes to the bar to be tried for alleged criminal conduct. Whether it's Paul Shanley or anybody else, people deserve due process and people deserve fairness," Shaw said.

District Attorney Gerry Leone said, "The jury's verdict was fair and it was just."

"The concept of recovered memory by victims of abuse has been accepted by both the scientific and legal communities, as well as the jury who convicted Mr. Shanley after hearing the full evidence in this case. We do not believe that the defendant has raised a sufficient reason for a new trial," Leone said in a statement.

Repressed memory evidence has proved controversial in recent years. Believers have been challenged by critics who say psychotherapists can plant false memories.

The case hinged on the credibility of the victim, who said Shanley had repeatedly raped and fondled him at St. Jean the Evangelist Parish in Newton in the 1980s.

Frank Mondano, Shanley's attorney at the trial, waged an often-aggressive cross-examination, trying to convince the jury that the man's stories of abuse were "false memories." But jurors said after the trial they had believed the victim.

The motion is being heard in Suffolk Superior Court because the judge who oversaw the trial in Middlesex Superior Court, Stephen Neel, has since moved to Suffolk Superior Court.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:38 PM | Comments (0)

Gas station worker robbed of thousands on way to bank

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A gas station employee carrying tens of thousands of dollars in cash was pepper-sprayed and robbed this morning as he walked towards a Saugus bank to make a deposit, police said.

As the victim passed a white van in the parking lot of the Sovereign Bank on Route 1, two men allegedly opened the van's doors, sprayed him, and stole his bag, which contained deposits from several area gas stations, said Saugus Detective Lieutenant Domenic DiMella. DiMella said the amount of cash totaled in the "six figures."

One suspect was an older white man with grey hair and an athletic, stocky build; the other was a white man wearing a mask, DiMella said. Police have not released information about the identity of the victim.

Shortly after the robbery, police found the van abandoned about 500 feet south on Route 1, near Roller World, DiMella said. No arrests have been made.

The van had been stolen from Cambridge Chevrolet Honda on May 1 and the license plates had stolen Feb. 2 from a car parked on Route 1, DiMella said.

The branch was temporarily closed, but reopened soon after the incident, said Ellen Molle, a spokeswoman for Sovereign Bank.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:35 PM | Comments (0)

Fire goes to three alarms in Cambridge

By Globe Staff

Cambridge firefighters are battling a three-alarm fire on Amory Street.

The blaze broke out around 3 p.m. and quickly went to three alarms.

No injuries are reported, but the flames can be seen for several miles around the Boston area.

No further information was immediately available.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:10 PM | Comments (0)

Slaying victim found on Dorchester street

By Globe Staff

A 20-year-old man was shot to death in Dorchester this afternoon, Boston police said.

The victim was found on Bowdoin Street at about 1.40 p.m., suffering from at least one gunshot wound, Boston Police spokesman James Kenneally said.

No suspects have been arrested. It's the 24th homicide in Boston this year, the same number as the same time last year, officials said.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:20 PM | Comments (0)

UMass panel approves $8K fee break for veterans

By Globe Staff

Veterans returning from serving in Afghanistan and Iraq who want to attend the University of Massachusetts would get $8,000 taken off their fees under a proposal approved today by a committee of the university's board of trustees.

The veterans would get $2,000 in fees waived annually for up to four years, the trustees' administration and finance committee voted this morning. Veterans already don't have to pay tuition. The new break would result, for example, in a reduction of about $3,700 in the $10,232 in annual tuition and fees at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

The fee-waiver proposal must now be voted on by the university's full board at its June 12 meeting at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

Robert J. Manning, chairman of the trustees, said he was pleased with the committee's unanimous vote.

"The least we can do for those who have served our country in combat zones is to honor their service and support their desire to pursue a degree," he said in a statement.

The new policy requires that students take 12 or more credits per semester. It does not apply to continuing education or online courses.

The university said that by some estimates, more than 26,000 Massachusetts residents have served in Iraq or Afghanistan and could qualify for the benefit.

Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are also eligible for a $1,000 grant from the state towards higher education.

Posted by mfinucane at 1:56 PM | Comments (0)

Markey unveils sweeping global warming bill

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

Representative Edward J. Markey, the chairman of the special House committee on global warming, today unveiled sweeping legislation to cut greenhouse gas emissions and raise billions of dollars to create alternative sources of energy.

The bill - the culmination of more than 40 hearings by Markey's committee - marks the starting point for a new legislative battle against global warming, a centerpiece of congressional Democrats' agenda for the immediate future.

Markey, a Malden Democrat, described the legislation, which would take effect in 2012, as the most aggressive plan yet for arresting global climate change, mandating an 85 percent cut in greenhouse gases over the next four decades. Markey expects to file his bill next week when Congress returns from its Memorial Day break, according to the Associated Press.

The most controversial part of the plan would be the so-called cap-and-trade plan under which major polluters would have to purchase licenses through a government auction to cover the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.

Under the system, the government would cap the total level of pollution allowed each year and sell licenses allowing companies to release carbons into the atmosphere only up to that level. The cost of the licenses would vary depending on the market - with prices dropping as the country comes closer to meeting its goals for eliminating carbons.

The proceeds from these auctions - estimated to be as much as $8 trillion between 2012 and 2050 - would be "recycled" to pay for the development of new low-carbon technologies and to help offset the painful increases in energy prices for American consumers.

"The United States has been a laggard, not a leader on this," Markey said in an interview with the Globe yesterday. "The world is begging the United States to take the lead."

With this bill, he added, "we will be the world leader - as we should be - in solving this problem."

Still, his prescription is likely to meet fierce resistance from some congressional Republicans and industry executives who believe the cap and trade provision would be too burdensome on American businesses. Overseas competitors would not be subject to such regulation, they say, giving a potential advantage to non-US companies.

Even a market-driven approach like cap and trade "can be every bit as onerous as a regulatory hammer approach if it does not have enough flexibility," said Frank Maisano, a professor at Johns Hopkins University's Carey School of Business and an energy-industry consultant.

Markey's plan to require such a precipitous drop in carbon emissions over four decades, he believes, "would tend to be viewed as overly aggressive" by industry officials.

The government, Maisano said, needs to "encourage people to move in the right direction and not shove them over the cliff."

But Markey insists his approach, which he calls a "cap and invest" system, could boost the economy by creating new jobs in alternative energies.

He also said the American people have now awakened to the threat of global warming and are prepared for serious action to cut pollution.

"The bill stems from the lessons I have learned in over 30 years in Congress and as chairman of the Select Committee on Global Warming," Markey said. "But it also tries to capture the spirit of what has captured the American people over the past two or three years."

The 400-page bill, a copy of which was provided to the Globe yesterday, has several major thrusts.

First, it would mandate that greenhouse gas emissions in the United States be reduced to 15 percent of 2005 levels by 2050, while putting in place new environmental standards for coal mines, landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and large animal feeding operations, all of which contribute to dangerous levels of greenhouse gases.

It would also provide financial incentives to farmers and forest managers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Each year beginning in 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency would auction off the pollution licenses to American industry, a process similar to what the EPA now does to limit the production of chemicals that cause acid rain.

A small percentage of industries that are especially energy-intensive and face heavy international competition - such as iron and steel, aluminum, cement, bulk glass, and paper - would be exempt from the licenses until 2020, at which time they, too, would have to purchase the right to pollute.

A new office set up at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would oversee the licensing process to prevent fraud and market manipulation, according to the bill.

The proceeds from these auctions would be used to fund research into clean energy technologies, and to retrain workers who lose their jobs as the American economy becomes "greener."

A substantial portion of the proceeds would also be used to provide low- and middle-income Americans - those households earning $70,000 per year or less, constituting about 66 percent of the country - with rebates and tax credits "to help compensate for any increase in energy costs as a result of climate legislation," according to a summary of the Markey bill.

The bill also creates a fund to offer assistance to developing countries like China and India that carry out their own aggressive programs to reduce emissions, and would financially penalize foreign industries that export energy-intensive goods to the United States if they fail to take similar action to reduce emissions by 2020.

The bill, called the "Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act," will be unveiled by the Massachusetts lawmaker in a speech today at the Center for American Progress, a liberal Washington think tank.

The consensus in the scientific community is that by the middle of the century the world must limit the increase in temperature to two degrees Celsius; it has already increased by up to half a degree.

To meet that goal, scientists believe, at least an 80 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is needed by 2050.

"This has a decent shot at avoiding the worst impacts of global warming," said Daniel J. Weiss, director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress.

"It also holds significant economic opportunity for the United States."

Bryan Bender can be reached at bender@globe.com. Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Posted by jtuohey at 1:25 PM | Comments (0)

After a police shooting, New Bedford ponders Tasers

(Taser International Photo)

A shocking picture: a sample of a Taser.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

In the wake of a police shooting of a knife-wielding man, city officials in New Bedford are discussing equipping police with Tasers, the electric shock dart gun intended to offer officers a nonlethal alternative to dealing with threatening suspects.

Councilor Brian Gomes, who is pushing the proposal, said he wasn't criticizing the handling of the recent shooting -- he simply wanted to give police "the tools they need in this 21st century." Gomes said he had raised the idea once before, in 2006.

Gomes said the council would be meeting with city administrators and the police department to talk about providing officers with Tasers and another device, the beanbag shotgun.

Deputy Police Chief David Provencher had no comment on the incident in which the man was fatally shot and said it would be "entirely inappropriate" to discuss the new weapons in that context.

But he also said the department was open to the idea of arming officers with Tasers.

He said one key obstacle was the city's tight finances. He also said people should recognize that the device is not the panacea for "all the world's problems."

"It's another tool. It has its pros and it has its cons," he said.

Tasers have been criticized by some, including the human rights group Amnesty International, which says that since June 2001, more than 290 people have died after being Tasered by police. The group says it's concerned that the device is being used as a routine tool, rather than a last resort, and has called for study of its effects.

Police departments in the state have held mixed views on whether to employ Tasers.

The shooting in New Bedford on May 14 was one of three fatal shootings by Massachusetts officers of knife-wielding suspects in the past few weeks. Other shootings occurred in Revere in late February and on Tuesday in Lynn.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)

West Roxbury students injured in sulfuric acid spill

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Two seniors at West Roxbury High School were taken to the hospital this morning after spilling sulfuric acid in a classroom experiment, a school spokesman said.

The seniors were wearing goggles and protective equipment when they accidentally spilled sulfuric acid onto themselves at 9:15 a.m., said Jonathan Palumbo, a spokesman for Boston Public Schools.

A teacher called 911 and the students were treated on the scene. As a precaution, the students were taken to Faulkner Hospital by ambulance, where they are in good condition, Palumbo said.

The school was not evacuated and the incident did not cause a major disruption in the school day, Palumbo said.

Posted by aryan at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)

SJC: Police officers can be forced to take lie detector tests

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Saying public confidence in law enforcement must be protected, the state’s highest court today ruled that police officers can be forced to take lie detector tests when subjected to internal department investigations.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled against Plymouth Police Officer Kevin J. Furtado, who was accused in 1999 of sexually abusing two minor children.

The mother of the children publicly declared the allegation to be unfounded. And Plymouth County prosecutors decided against bringing criminal charges. But Furtado then became the target of an internal police investigation. During that probe, he refused to take a lie detector test, citing state law that bans employers from pressuring workers to undergo testing.

The law, however, allows lie detector tests to be conducted by law enforcement doing criminal investigations. Furtado argued there was no criminal case because prosecutors had chosen not to file charges against him.

But the SJC today said that exception must also apply to police officers and the leaders of the state’s police departments, even when no criminal case is immediately likely. In the ruling written by Justice Robert Cordy, the SJC drew on words from a 1984 ruling on the same general issue.

“We have little hesitation in concluding that, when the functions of a police department are disrupted by allegations of criminal conduct by police officers, the police department's decision to subject officers reasonably suspected of criminal activities to lie detector tests furthers law enforcement objectives,’’ the court said.

Cordy also wrote, “the 'criminal investigations' exception applies where the conduct under investigation would constitute a crime even though criminal prosecution was not possible at the time of the administration of the lie detector test.’’

Posted by jellement at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

Crash slows traffic on Turnpike in Newton

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A car and a truck collided this morning on the westbound Massachusetts Turnpike in Newton, backing up traffic for miles, State Police said.

Only the left lane is open after the crash at 7:30 near Exit 17, said Trooper Thomas Murphy, a State Police spokesman. It was not clear whether anyone was injured.

Posted by aryan at 8:54 AM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2008

Dr. Erwin Hirsch, renowned trauma surgeon, 72

(Essdras M. Suarez/Globe Staff)

Hirsch at Boston Medical Center in 2006.

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

Nearly 20 years ago, when Elaine Ullian was head of Faulkner Hospital, she got an inkling of the high regard with which Dr. Erwin Hirsch was held across the country.

"I was recruiting a surgeon and he said, 'It will be fun to come to Boston because the best trauma leader in the world is Erwin Hirsch and I'll get to see him,'" Ullian, now president and CEO of Boston Medical Center, said today. "Erwin had rock star quality in the trauma community -- he really was a rock star. And he would be very amused to hear me say he was a rock star. He would giggle."

Drawing lessons from a life that spanned three continents and vast changes in the medical field, Dr. Hirsch spent more than three decades turning Boston City Hospital and its successor, Boston Medical Center, into the city's premier trauma center, all the while training physicians who used the knowledge he shared in careers throughout the country.

Dr. Hirsch, who was 72 when he drowned Friday in a boating accident in Rockport, Maine, "was iconic," Ullian said. "I cannot think of anybody at this medical center who was held in the same esteem that Erwin Hirsch was."

"He had an impact not only at the Boston Medical Center, but also on how trauma is practiced in the city and in the state as well -- and in the country, it would not be unfair to say," said Dr. Peter A. Burke, chief of surgical critical care at Boston Medical Center. "He had a national reputation as a person with an enormous amount of experience. Trauma, unlike other specialties, is something that requires experience because no trauma is alike and you're always dealing with the unknown, really."

Beginning in the early 1970s, when he was an assistant professor of surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine and had a clinical position at Boston City Hospital, Dr. Hirsch began building the trauma program that would become his legacy. Appointed assistant chief of surgery at the hospital in 1977, he worked with Dr. Lenworth Jacobs to secure for the hospital a Level 1 trauma center designation.

"First and foremost he was for the patient and it didn't matter to him who that patient was -- rich person, poor person, whatever," said Jacobs, a professor of surgery at the University of Connecticut and director of the trauma program at Hartford Hospital. "He was going to take good care of that person, that was his defining moment. This might sound a little trite, but with trauma, you get to know your patients very, very well and Erwin was a people person. He would really go out of his way to make sure his patients got anything they needed to get better."

In the early 1980s, Dr. Hirsch worked behind the scenes to create Boston MedFlight, a nonprofit financially backed by several of the city's hospitals that uses helicopters, a small jet, and ground vehicles to transport patients. He served on its board of directors since the service was created.

"My crew will tell you he's the father of MedFlight, and they say it with reverence," said Suzanne Wedel, medical director and CEO of Boston MedFlight.

"He also was one of the earliest people to welcome women into surgery," she said. "Even when women in surgery were an unusual breed, there were many women in surgery at Boston City Hospital and Boston Medical Center."

Dr. Hirsch, who became chief of trauma surgery at Boston Medical Center, was also a professor of surgery at Boston University School of Medicine for more than two decades.

"Trauma is a social issue as much as a medical one," he told the Globe in 1984. "The reasons [this society] sees so much of it are obvious. We drive too fast and drink too much. We batter our children and stab strangers on the street. We glamorize violence on television, then permit every Tom, Dick, and Harry to own a gun."

Born in Mannheim, Germany, Erwin Federico Hirsch was the oldest of three sons and left the country with his family in 1939 after his father was released from a Nazi concentration camp, according to information from his family. In Buenos Aires, where the family settled during World War II, he was a member of the Argentine national rugby team and in 1959 graduated from the medical school at the University of Buenos Aires.

Immigrating to the United States, Dr. Hirsch trained as a surgeon at Washington Hospital Center in the nation's capital and at University of Maryland Hospital's shock trauma unit.

He volunteered for the Navy during the Vietnam War, served as a surgeon in Da Nang, then remained in the Naval Reserves and was stationed briefly in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. While in Vietnam, his family said, he learned to sail, a pastime he continued to pursue after returning home.

"He was a citizen of the world, he really was, and he had a wonderful sense of humor -- his eyes always sparkled," Ullian said. "He just was full of life and he loved his family. He just adored his wife and his two daughters. I used to tease him: Here he was such a strong personality, and how fitting it was that he was surrounded by three equally strong women."

Dr. Hirsch leaves his wife, Susan, of Marblehead; two daughters, Christina Townsend of New York City and Kathleen of South Boston; and two brothers, Carlos of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Cristobal of Buenos Aires.

A memorial service for family and friends will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Old North Church in Marblehead. A memorial service open to the public will be held at noon Thursday at Boston Medical Center in front of the Moakley Building on Harrison Avenue.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:27 PM | Comments (0)

MBTA service restored after electrical fire on Red Line tracks

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Two subway stations were evacuated this afternoon and commuters were asked to use shuttle buses after an electrical fire on the Red Line tracks near the Downtown Crossing station, authorities said.

The fire started at about 5:20 when a 600-volt power cable short-circuited in a tunnel just outside the station. Smoke filled that station and the Park Street station, prompting their evacuation.

The stations were reopened about two hours later after firefighters extinguished the blaze and used exhaust fans to vent smoke out of the tunnel.

No one was injured in the fire or its aftermath, MacDonald said.

Globe Correspondent Marc Robins contributed to this report.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:14 PM | Comments (0)

Firefighter pleads not guilty to solicitation charge

By Eric Moskowitz Globe Staff

A Boston firefighter who was allegedly snared in a prostitution sting pleaded not guilty today in Roxbury District Court to a charge of soliciting sex for a fee.

Collin M. Herelle was ordered to stay away from the Blue Hill Avenue area and to participate in a program for individuals engaged in high-risk behavior, a standard condition in sex-for-fee cases, Suffolk County prosecutors said. A pretrial hearing was slated for July 9.

Herelle's attorney, Matthew Machera, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

Boston Police have said that an officer disguised as a prostitute was standing at a public parking lot near Blue Hill Avenue and La Grange Place at about 10:50 p.m. Friday when Herelle pulled up in his white Cadillac and offered $29 for a sex act, according to police. The undercover officer signaled to other officers nearby, who moved in and arrested Herelle.

Herelle, who is 44, lives in Dorchester. A veteran of six years with the department, he is assigned to Engine 4 on Cambridge Street in downtown Boston. City records show that Herelle earned nearly $98,000 in gross pay last year.

Fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald said Herelle has worked several shifts since his arrest and has reported his arrest to his superiors. "He will keep the department informed of his court case, including what the final disposition is,'' MacDonald said. "At that time, the department will review it to see if any action is warranted.''

Officers also seized Herelle's car, a 2004 Cadillac wagon, for 48 hours and issued a $300 citation for using the vehicle to solicit a prostitute, in accordance with a Boston ordinance, police said.

Eric Moskowitz can be reached at emoskowitz@globe.com.

Posted by aryan at 6:58 PM | Comments (0)

Call it stormy Tuesday -- thunderstorms lash the area

By Globe Staff

Strong thunderstorms are sweeping through Massachusetts this afternoon, knocking down tree branches and power lines, forecasters at the National Weather Service say.

Reports are flowing into the weather service of damage from wind gusts and lightning strikes.

Fire officials in Bedford said lightning ignited a fire at a home on South Street. The blaze was quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported.

Massport reported some weather-related delays at Logan International Airport, particularly on flights traveling betweeen Boston, New York City, and Newark, N.J.

The MBTA reported 15- to 20-minute delays on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line after lightning struck a signal tower.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch will be in effect until 8 p.m, forecasters said.

Meteorologist Bill Simpson said a strong cold front was moving into the area that would lower temperatures from the 80s at midday to the 40s tonight in most of the state.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:25 PM | Comments (0)

Gloucester woman pleads guilty in crash involving Sandra Bullock

By Globe Staff

The Gloucester woman who crashed her car into actress Sandra Bullock's SUV last month pleaded guilty today to drunken driving and failing to stay within marked lanes, Essex prosecutors said.

Lucile Gatchell, 64, was placed on probation for a year. Gloucester District Court Judge Joseph Jennings also ordered her to complete an alcohol safety program. Her license will also be suspended for 60 days.

Prosecutors said Gatchell drove her gray station wagon across the center line on East Main Street in Gloucester at about 9:50 p.m. on April 18, smashing into the car containing Bullock, her husband, Jesse James, and their driver. Nobody was injured in the incident, the Essex district attorney's office said in a statement.

Gatchell's attorney, Benjamin Richard, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

Bullock was in the area shooting the romantic comedy "The Proposal" and had just finished filming for the day in Rockport.

After the collision, according to a report by the arresting officer, Gatchell was told several times that she had hit Bullock, and each time she expressed shock, as if it was the first time she heard.

"She said, `My first drunk driving incident, and I hit Sandra Bullock,"' Officer Kevin Mackey said in an interview. "She was almost laughing. But crying, too."

Posted by mfinucane at 5:27 PM | Comments (0)

Name released of young woman killed in Norwood fire

By Globe Staff

The 24-year-old woman killed in a two-alarm fire in Norwood was identified today as Lauren Ayala, according to a release from the Norfolk District Attorney's office.

Ayala was killed when the blaze tore through her family's Tremont Street home Monday night. She was rushed to Caritas Norwood Hospital after being removed from the first floor of the two-story building. Officials said Ayala was the only one home when the fire erupted at 7 p.m.

The state medical examiner plans to conduct an autopsy, which could be completed as soon as this afternoon. The state fire marshal, state police, and local authorities are trying to determine what caused the fire.

Posted by aryan at 3:34 PM | Comments (0)

Amtrak train hits person on tracks in Attleboro

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

An Amtrak Acela Express train hit a person on the tracks near the Attleboro commuter rail station, a railroad spokesman said. The extent of the person's injuries wasn't released.

The train was traveling in an area with a speed limit of 150 miles per hour at about 1:30 p.m., said Cliff Cole, an Amtrak spokesman. Someone at the scene loaded the person into their vehicle and took the injured person to an area hospital, authorities said.

Neither Amtrak nor Attleboro Police released any information about the victim's identity or injuries.

No one on the Boston-bound train, which was carrying 132 passengers, was injured, but the train was delayed for about a half hour, Cole said.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:04 PM | Comments (0)

Survey: Many Bay State drivers do not know basic rules of the road

(Globe file photo/2002)

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

News flash: Many Massachusetts drivers do not know the most basic rules of the road.

Bigger news flash: Drivers in New York and New Jersey know even less about how to drive.

That's according to a 50-state survey by GMAC Insurance that found that 16.4 percent of drivers on the road -- roughly 33 million people -- would fail a written drivers test. The poll, which questioned 5,524 licensed drivers, is a marketing tool used by GMAC, the St. Louis-based insurance company.

Drivers across the nation had particular difficulty when asked what to do when approaching a steady yellow traffic light. (Eighty-four percent did not know they were supposed to stop unless it is unsafe to do so because the light is about to turn red.) Seventy-three percent of drivers could not properly identify a safe distance between cars. (Massachusetts urges drivers to use the two-second rule, counting "one one-thousand, two one-thousand" to calculate the distance between vehicles.)

The average score on the 20-question survey by Massachusetts drivers was 75 percent, which was the fourth worst in the country. New York drivers' average score was 74 percent; Washington D.C. 72.9 percent; New Jersey 69.9 percent. Kansas topped the list with an average score of 84 percent.

There is one caveat: Two of the four worst scores on the survey were in places where GMAC Insurance is not available: New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Posted by aryan at 3:00 PM | Comments (0)

'Open wide': Dental hygienists lobby legislators

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The special interest group that descended on Beacon Hill today packed the tools of their trade: dental picks, mouth mirrors, tongue cleaners, floss, toothpaste, and old-fashioned brushes. Their hands-on lobbying technique will go straight to the mouths of lawmakers, who will tip their heads back, drop their jaws, and be told to "open wider."

Globe file photo

It is dental hygiene day on Beacon Hill, which means lawmakers are being plied with free oral health exams at the State House. The state's dental hygienists are advocating for several bills, including a proposal that would expand their representation on the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Density.

In addition to the free exams, dental hygienists will hand out toothbrushes and toothpaste and host a raffle for an Oral B Triumph Smart Guide Toothbrush, which retails for $120.

In March 2007, more than 100 hygienists and students attended the group's annual lobbying effort.

The size of the region's dental lobby was evident in February when more than 28,000 dentists, hygienists, and office assistants converged on South Boston for a conference and triggered traffic jams that clogged the Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate 93.

The 33d annual Yankee Dental Congress was more than jabber about cavities, gingivitis, and fluoride. Red Sox slugger Jim Rice posed for pictures. Grammy winner Sheryl Crow performed. And actor Geena Davis came for a celebrity lunch.

Material from State House News Service was included in this report.

Posted by aryan at 1:23 PM | Comments (0)

Lynn officer fatally shoots knife-wielding man

By Globe Staff

A Lynn police officer early this morning shot and killed a knife-wielding man who advanced toward him and ignored warnings to stop and drop his weapon, prosecutors said.

The Essex district attorney's office gave this account, in a statement released today, of the confrontation that led to the shooting of Michael Addesa, 34, of East Boston:

The officer spotted Addesa acting suspiciously at about 2:20 a.m. at the intersection of Commercial and Alley Streets.

The officer, whose name wasn't released, got out of his car and ordered Addesa to stop. The officer pursued Addesa on foot, down Alley Street. Addesa stopped and confronted the officer with a knife. The officer ordered him to drop it, but he refused and advanced toward the officer.

Addesa ignored a second warning and continued advancing in a threatening manner. The officer fired, striking Addesa once in the chest. Addesa was pronounced dead at 2:45 a.m. at Salem Hospital.

Prosecutors also said Addesa had "an extensive criminal record of violence" and had slit one of his wrists earlier in the evening at his girlfriend's home.

The district attorney's office is investigating the case, along with the Lynn police.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick Kennedy says his family defies medical odds

By Jonathan Saltzman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. -- Congressman Patrick Kennedy made his first public appearance today in his district since his father's diagnosis with brain cancer, striking an upbeat tone as he described how his storied family has consistently overcome dire diseases.

AP file photo

"All we know in our family is when doctors give us terrible news, we don't believe it," Kennedy told two dozen reporters and public officials who crowded the announcement of a routine federal grant. "We fight it, and we've managed to defy the odds every time."

The Democratic congressman's sister, Kara Kennedy, beat inoperable lung cancer. His mother, Joan B. Kennedy, was treated for breast cancer in 2005. His brother, Edward Kennedy Jr., lost a leg to bone cancer in 1973 when he was 12 years old. Even Patrick Kennedy himself had a brush with mortality when he had a noncancerous tumor removed from his spine in 1988.

Now doctors have told the congressman that his father, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, has a malignant brain tumor.

"All I can say is that when my brother was first diagnosed, they gave him very little hope," Patrick Kennedy said. "But my father gave him all the hope in the world. My brother is alive and well today and has beautiful children."

The tributes to his father and the personal stories fellow lawmakers have shared about their own battles with cancer have been a "moving experience for me," Patrick Kennedy said. The outpouring from constituents has touched his father and fortified his resolve.

"I'm just glad he has had a chance to see how grateful people are for all he's done," Patrick Kennedy said.

The congressman was speaking at Progreso Latino Inc., a bilingual social services agency where he was announcing an $182,000 federal grant that will be shared with Johnson & Wales University. It was a press conference that would not have typically attracted so many reporters and television cameras. Patrick Kennedy could not resist a quip.

"I especially want to thank all the media for their interest in Progreso Latino," he said, turning to M. Charles Bakst, the influential columnist for the Providence Journal.

"That was supposed to be a joke, Charlie."

Posted by aryan at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)

SJC tells state and towns to settle affordable housing problems jointly

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The Supreme Judicial Court today refused to referee one part of the continuing struggle between local governments and the state over the controversial 40B affordable housing law.

The state's highest court concluded in two cases involving the towns of Hingham and Wrentham that the communities, developers, and the state must search for agreement in the administrative arena before turning to the courts to resolve the issues.

"This case is not one of the rare cases that warrants an exception to the exhaustion requirement,'' wrote Justice Roderick I. Ireland in the Hingham case.

And for Wrentham, Ireland wrote, "the town has failed to exhaust its administrative remedies.''

In broad terms, both communities wanted the courts to weigh in on the way the state Department of Housing and Community Development determines that 10 percent of a town's housing stock is considered affordable housing. Once that threshold is reached, developers cannot essentially bypass local zoning rules.

David Weiss, a Boston attorney who has represented 40B developers and has closely watched the SJC’s examination of the affordable housing law, said today’s rulings clarify the rules for everyone involved in the sometimes bitter process.

“When you bring a lawsuit outside the normal (administrative) process, it makes everybody involved face a more complicated and unpredictable path to the end result,’’ he said. “It’s better for the orderly development of affordable housing.’’

Posted by jellement at 10:54 AM | Comments (0)

Former Brockton man's first degree murder conviction upheld

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The Supreme Judicial Court today upheld Michael T. Burnham's first-degree murder conviction for fatally injuring a 22-month-old girl by stomping on her stomach in 1985, a killing that went unsolved for 17 years.

Burnham was convicted in Plymouth Superior Court in Brockton in 2005 and was sentenced to the mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In an unanimous decision written by Justice Francis X. Spina, the court rejected defense arguments that it was the failure of Margaret A. Earle to get her daughter, Rachelle Pelletier, to a hospital that caused her death.

Burnham's attorney, Carlo A. Obligato, asked the SJC to reduce Burnham's conviction to involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz' office insisted Burnham should never be released from prison.

"He threw her on the floor and stomped on her stomach twice, each time twisting his weight onto her abdomen,'' Spina wrote of Burnham. "The massive assault on this fragile and vulnerable child did not warrant an involuntary manslaughter instruction.''

According to the SJC, Burnham confessed to the killing and repeatedly threatened a former wife he would kill her just like he did Pelletier if she did not follow his bidding. The former wife eventually contacted authorities, which reopened the investigation, leading to the 2002 indictments of Burnham and Earle.

Earle, the child's mother, was tried separately and was convicted of second degree murder. Her appeal is pending, according to court records.

Posted by jellement at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

May 24, 2008

Coast Guard hoists injured crewmember from cargo ship

By Danielle Capalbo, Globe Correspondent

A 25-year-old man sustained a serious head injury today while working on a container ship about 300 miles off the coast of Nantucket and was rushed to a Boston hospital by a Coast Guard helicopter, a spokeswoman said.

The man's identity is not known, said Petty Officer Etta Smith. He was working on the water evaporator of the MSC Bali when he was injured.

Crewmembers contacted the Coast Guard around 10 a.m., and a helicopter arrived from Cape Cod almost two hours later to hoist the man off the ship and fly him to Massachusetts General Hospital.

His condition was unknown late yesterday afternoon, Smith said. The cargo ship was traveling from Philadelphia to Antwerp, Belgium.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:06 PM | Comments (0)

One killed in Brimfield rollover crash

By John Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

One person was killed in a single-car crash on Route 20 eastbound in Brimfield at about noon today.

The driver of a 1998 Ford Windstar minivan lost control and rolled over off the right side of the road, State Police said.

The driver, whose name has not been released pending family notification, was not wearing a seat belt. The driver was ejected from the van, pinned underneath it, and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:49 PM | Comments (0)

Thirteen arrested for drunken driving at Cape checkpoint

By Danielle Capalbo, Globe Correspondent

Thirteen people were arrested for drunken driving during a five-hour sobriety checkpoint in Yarmouth, police said. Police also arrested one driver for being a wanted Level 3 sex offender and another for illegal drug possession.

The checkpoint manned by Dennis, Yarmouth and State Police on Route 28 stopped 400 cars between 8:30 p.m. Friday and 1:30 a.m. today.

Yarmouth Police said the idea was to reduce accidents and protect Cape residents and tourists during the holiday weekend. State police said earlier this week that checkpoints were also planned in Essex and Worcester counties this weekend.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:17 PM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2008

Missing 6-month-old found in car trunk in Gardner

By Maria Cramer, Shelley Murphy, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

GARDNER -- A 6-month-old boy who had been snatched from his crib in the middle of the night in Gardner was found nine hours later hidden in the trunk of a broken-down car.

Paul Baez Jr.

Police found the boy at 10:30 a.m. in the trunk of a black Honda Civic parked at the home of Jason Bisceglia, a 19-year-old man who attended a party at the apartment of the child's mother, Asia C. Sterrett. Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said at a press conference this afternoon that Bisceglia took the boy and led police to the child after he was taken into custody.

The child, Paul Baez Jr., spent about two hours inside the trunk wearing only a diaper, officials said. He was rushed to Heywood Hospital and is in good condition.

"This was not a joke," Early said. "We averted a real tragedy."

Authorities described Bisceglia as a friend of the 20-year-old Sterrett, but would not say why he allegedly took the child.

"Through his statement, we know he was the one that had taken the child," Early said. "That's all I can say at this point."

"I want to see him do time in jail,'' Sterrett said in an interview, her voice quivering as she spoke about her son's ordeal. "He made my baby suffer for two hours. No food, his diaper wasn't changed...he was in a hot trunk,''

Bisceglia appeared barefoot in a white jumpsuit when he was arraigned this afternoon in Gardner District Court on charges of kidnapping and child endangerment. Bisceglia's father and grandmother came to court but declined to speak to reporters. His grandmother closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand when Assistant District Attorney Thomas Landry described the charges.

Landry said that Bisceglia got in an argument with the boy's mother at the party before he took her son.

Defense attorney Mark Goldstein said his client did not remember taking the child. "This is very unusual," Goldstein said. "His behavior is out of character."

Bisceglia was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail.

At the press conference, police offered only a few details about the gathering at Sterrett's apartment on Hemlock Drive.

"There were a number of individuals partying at the apartment," said Chief Neil Erickson of the Gardner Police Department. "I believe there was some alcohol, and some marijuana has been mentioned also."

After putting the baby to bed, Sterrett noticed her son missing at 1:40 a.m. and searched the apartment. She called 911 at 2:14 a.m. and reported her son missing, police said.

The call touched off a massive search that included state and local police and bloodhounds. When officers did not find the child in the immediate area, they began interviewing witnesses, including Bisceglia, according to Early.

Bisceglia told police he felt ill and said he was going to the hospital, Early said. When Bisceglia did not show up at the hospital, police went to his Linwood Street home, which is roughly two miles away from Sterrett's apartment.

"Upon seeing uniformed Gardner police arriving [at his home], he panicked and moved the baby from the basement of his house to a trunk of a disabled motor vehicle parked in front of the property," Early said.

Bisceglia then ran into the woods, where he was apprehended. At the Gardner Police Department, Bisceglia told police he took the 6-month-old child and hid him in the trunk, Early said.

The Department of Social Services took custody of the baby and his 16-month-old sister today. Sterrett's third child, a two-year-old boy, was placed with relatives, according to a spokeswoman for the agency.

DSS had previously investigated Sterrett, before the birth of her youngest son, for a complaint of neglect involving one of her other children. But that case was closed last year, according to Alison Goodwin, a spokeswoman for DSS. She said she had no further information about the details of that case.

Posted by aryan at 8:11 PM | Comments (0)

Roxbury man convicted in 2006 slaying

By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Staff

A Roxbury man was convicted of shooting his neighbor to death in 2006 after a night of drinking and smoking marijuana, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office announced today.

Akiel Civil, 23, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm for shooting his neighbor, Kevin Hines, also 23, in the back of the head when the man was visiting Civil's apartment on Nov. 3, 2006.

Prosecutors said Civil had spent the night drinking, dancing and smoking marijuana with a female friend and later another man, Rahsaan Lashley, 22, of Dorchester, in Civil’s Georgia Street apartment. Civil allegedly showed them a revolver he kept in his bureau twice that evening.

Hines, who lived upstairs in the same building, came to Civil’s apartment around midnight and also drank and danced with the young woman. When he was leaving the apartment, he embraced her, and Civil got the revolver out of his bureau and shot Hines in the back of the head, killing him, prosecutors said in a statement.

After the shooting, Civil moved Hines’s body out of his bedroom window, into the back yard, and then back into the apartment building, leaving him in a stairwell. He and Lashley fled, prosecutors said.

Three days later, Civil turned himself in to Boston Police detectives. Lashley was charged as an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping Civil move the body, but he was acquitted.

Until his sentencing on June 30, Civil will be held without bail.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:26 PM | Comments (0)

Text of Mukasey's speech at BC law commencement

Remarks by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey today at Boston College Law School's commencement.

Thank you, Dean Garvey. 

Distinguished faculty and guests; parents, families and friends of the graduates; and members of the class of 2008:

I am grateful for the invitation to deliver this year’s commencement address at this distinguished school. Boston College Law School has a history of inviting commencement speakers who reflect diverse views on important legal and public policy issues. Of course, this has meant speakers with whom some faculty members and students have strongly disagreed – including, most recently, me. That history is consistent with what elevates American legal education above mere indoctrination and makes it worthy of being called higher education; that history includes a hearty welcome to open discourse on vital questions of the day.  

Many of those questions in today’s world revolve around the terrorist threat to the civilization we all treasure. It should be no surprise that questions about how we should confront that threat have generated vigorous debate at this law school, and at others around the country. Those questions are among the most complex and consequential that a democratic government can face. How we as a nation should seek to protect ourselves; whether the steps we take are proportional to the threat and consistent with our history and principles; where the legal lines are in this new and very different conflict; and, as a matter of policy, how close to those legal lines we should go, and whether the lines themselves should be redrawn – these are questions that, understandably, trigger passionate debate.

Whether or not you pursue national security law as a vocation, and whether or not you go into other kinds of public service, all of you, as lawyers, will have a special role in that debate – as you will in many others. Not only because, as Alexis de Tocqueville famously observed, political questions in the United States often turn into legal questions. But also because, as lawyers, you have developed a set of tools that enable you – and assumed a set of commitments that require you – to conduct dispassionate and reasoned analysis, to distinguish what is legally relevant from what is not and, most important, to separate what are legal questions from what are political questions.

Answering legal questions often involves a close reading and a critical analysis of text – the Constitution, statutes, judicial decisions and the like. Regrettably, that elementary point – elementary at least to those of you in this graduating class – is far too often lost in public discourse on legal subjects. Newspapers and commentators, for example, often discuss legal questions with barely any acknowledgement, or no acknowledgment, that the answers may depend on the language of, say, the Constitution or a statute. And critics of a policy decision much too rarely draw distinctions between whether a course of action is permitted as a matter of law, and whether that course of action is prudent as a matter of policy.

That is a critical distinction; indeed, it is a distinction that goes to the heart of what it means to live in a society governed by the rule of law. I don’t mean to suggest that lawyers can or should approach legal questions with no regard for their own values or moral commitments. Nor do I mean to suggest that a lawyer should express no opinion about matters of policy – although policy opinion should be expressed without disguising it in the language of the law.

A lawyer’s principal duty is to advise his client as to what the best reading of the law is—to define the space in which the client may act consistent with the law. If you do your job well, there will be times when you will have to advise clients that the law prohibits them from doing things that they want to do, or that might even be, in your view, the right thing to do. And there will be times when you will have to advise clients that the law permits them to take actions that you may find imprudent, or even wrong.

This nation’s well-proved commitment to the rule of law is what sets it apart from many other countries around the world and throughout history.  If that commitment is to persist – if we are to remain, as we often say, a nation of laws, not of men – then we must insist that law matters, that the law is something other than a hollow vessel into which a client, or a policymaker, may pour his or her personal views or preferences.  And whether you go into public service (as I hope many of you will) or into the private sector, as I did initially and have more than once since; whether you pursue the public interest in some other way or enter the legal academy, you, as lawyers, must do law.

You must do law even – you must do law especially – when the stakes are high and the pressures to do something else are tremendous. Nowhere are the stakes higher and the pressures greater than when the subject is national security, where, as I said earlier, the questions are as complex and as consequential as they come. 

The questions are complex because, in this area, the limits of executive power are not clearly defined by the Constitution or by well-settled precedent; because the laws Congress has enacted often speak in general terms and do not provide clear answers to the novel questions we confront; and because there are few judicial markers to guide the conscientious lawyer.  And the questions are consequential because the stakes are anything but academic.  Lives, economic prosperity – our way of life – may hang in the balance.

As if that weren’t enough, every national security lawyer aware of recent history knows that decisions made in the heat of crisis may be second-guessed under radically different conditions: in the comparative calm of a hearing room or an editorial board room, with the well-known but rarely acknowledged benefit of perfect hindsight.

Consider the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001. I was a federal judge in New York City that day; my courtroom was not far from Ground Zero. I can personally attest to the bravery and hard work of many people – government employees and civilians alike – in response to the attacks; but I cannot describe from any experience personal to me what that day, and the days that followed it, were like inside the executive branch for those with the duty and the responsibility of protecting the country.

But I do recall the very public scrutiny that followed in the months after the attacks. The 9/11 Commission and congressional committees, among other bodies, conducted thorough investigations into whether the attacks could have been prevented, and how our government could be better equipped to prevent future terrorist strikes.

The narratives produced by these investigations were, in many instances, stories of missed opportunities. The subtext of these narratives -- in fact, at times, the text -- was that risk-aversion can have grave costs. The 9/11 Commission report, for example, tells of operations against Osama bin Laden that were contemplated but not executed; of  surveillance considered but not requested; of information not shared; of so-called “dots” not connected.

Understandably, and reasonably, government lawyers were not immune from that public scrutiny. For example, lawyers in the Justice Department and in our intelligence agencies were criticized for interpreting the law as establishing a “wall” between intelligence collection and law enforcement – an interpretation that the federal appeals court responsible for reviewing foreign intelligence surveillance would later conclude was wrong. Others asserted that this interpretation was too cautious, and impeded information-sharing about threats.

Complaints about risk-averse national security lawyers were commonplace in the first few years following the September 11 attacks. About a year after the attacks, one prominent Senator said:  “[W]e are not living in times in which lawyers can say no to an operation just to play it safe. We need excellent, aggressive lawyers who give sound, accurate legal advice, not lawyers who say no to an otherwise legal operation just because it is easier to put on the brakes.”  

A few years later, another blue-ribbon Commission made a similar observation, noting that many people in our intelligence agencies claimed that their efforts to protect our country were hampered by risk-averse lawyers. In the words of that Commission’s report, “quite often the cited legal impediments ended up being . . . myths that overcautious lawyers had never debunked . . . .  Needless to say, such confusion about what the law actually requires can seriously hinder the Intelligence Community’s ability to be proactive and innovative.”

In short, the message sent to our national security lawyers in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks was clear; it was bipartisan; and it was all but unanimous. It was that the legal culture in our intelligence agencies, and in the Justice Department, was too risk-averse.  It needed to be more aggressive, it needed to push to the limits of the law, to give policymakers and operators the most flexibility possible to confront the existential threat of international terrorism. 

As Professor Jack Goldsmith, a former Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department who now teaches law at another school across the Charles River, put it in what I regard as his indispensable recent book, The Terror Presidency:  “The consistent refrain from the [9/11] Commission, Congress, and pundits of all stripes was that the government must be more forward-leaning against the terrorist threat:  more imaginative, more aggressive, less risk-averse.”

We have gone six and a half years without another terrorist attack within the United States, and we are hearing a rather different refrain today. 

Today, many of the senior government lawyers who provided legal advice supporting the nation’s most important counterterrorism policies have been subjected to relentless public criticism. In some corners, one even hears suggestions—suggestions that are made in a manner that is almost breathtakingly casual—that some of these lawyers should be subject to civil or criminal liability for the advice they gave.  The rhetoric of these discussions is hostile and unforgiving. 

The difficulty and novelty of the legal questions these lawyers confronted is scarcely mentioned; indeed, the vast majority of the criticism is unaccompanied by any serious legal analysis. In addition, it is rarely acknowledged that those public servants were often working in an atmosphere of almost unimaginable pressure, without the academic luxury of endless time for debate. Equally ignored is the fact that, by all accounts I have seen or heard, including but not limited to Jack Goldsmith’s book, those lawyers reached their conclusions in good faith based upon their best judgments of what the law required.

Those of you who may be students of national security issues—or those who have simply been around long enough—know that we have, as the saying goes, seen this movie before.  For decades, we have witnessed what Professor Goldsmith calls “cycles of timidity and aggression” among political leaders, and the public, in their attitudes towards the intelligence community. 

As Professor Goldsmith explains, political leaders -- and he might as well have added opinion leaders outside the government, including academics, to the list as well – in his words,           pressure the community to engage in controversial action at the edges of the law, and then fail to protect it from recriminations when things go awry. This leads the community to retrench and become risk averse, which invites complaints by politicians that the community is fecklessly timid.  Intelligence excesses of the 1960s led to the Church committee reproaches and reforms of the 1970s, which led to complaints that the community had become too risk averse, which led to the aggressive behavior under William Casey in the 1980s that resulted in the Iran-Contra and related scandals, which led to another round of intelligence purges and restrictions in the 1990s that deepened the culture of risk aversion and once again led (both before and after 9/11) to complaints about excessive timidity.

That is the political pendulum as Jack Goldsmith describes it. That pendulum is swinging back once again; indeed, it is safe to say that this latest swing started some time ago. No doubt, there is some sense in which this cycle, or something like it, is healthy. The sometimes competing imperatives to protect the nation and to safeguard our civil liberties are undoubtedly worthy of public debate and discussion. And oversight and review of our intelligence activities—by the Congress, within the executive branch, and, where possible, by the public—is important, vitally so. 

But it is also important—and equally so—that such scrutiny be conducted responsibly, with appreciation of its institutional implications. In evaluating the work of national security lawyers, political leaders and the public must not forget what was asked of those lawyers six-and-a-half years ago.  We cannot afford to invite another “cycle of timidity” in the intelligence community; the stakes are simply too high.

For the good lawyer who understands that there will be such scrutiny of his decisions in the future, there is no alternative except to do law. Hard though it may be, the good lawyer must be indifferent to the fact that he may well be criticized, whatever he may decide.  It is the task of the good lawyer to tune out all this white noise, to give the best reading of what the law is – and not to confuse what the law is with what that lawyer, or someone else, thinks the law ought to be. 

If the lawyer’s best reading of the law permits some policy, he has a professional obligation to say that it would be lawful – even if he personally disagrees with it, or recognizes that it may one day prove politically controversial.  Just as important – perhaps more important – if the lawyer believes that some policy would be unlawful, he has a professional and ethical obligation to say “no” – even if some people think that the policy is critical.  The rule of law, and the oath every public servant takes to support and defend the Constitution, depend on it.

Although only a few of you are likely to become national security lawyers and face these precise dilemmas, the responsibility to do law applies to each of you.  The lawyer in private practice must not confuse his client’s interest with the law; he has an obligation to say no if no is the right answer, even if the client doesn’t want to hear it.  The lawyer pursuing what he believes to be the public interest must not confuse his views on what the law ought to be for what the law is.  And the lawyer in robes (as I once was, and as some of you no doubt will be), like the image of Justice blindfolded, must decide cases, as the judicial oath says – without respect to persons: that is, not based on who the parties are or what outcome may be well received in any particular quarter, but based on his best reading of what the law requires.

In becoming lawyers, you are becoming the custodians of a trust – a trust whose assets are the rule of law and the justice that results from that rule of law.  Being a custodian of that trust carries with it solemn responsibilities.  But it is also a great privilege because you will play a large role in the most essential debates of our times.  I urge you to play it well; much hangs in the balance.

I also wish you congratulations and good luck.

Posted by rgreene at 7:09 PM | Comments (0)

A reality show, live, from Concord window box

(Courtesy of Goldsmiths 3)

Just relaxing at home with the kids.

By Globe Staff

It's a reality show of a kind, an inside look into into the lives of a mother and her restless, clamoring children. And it all takes place inside a window box in front of a Concord jewelry shop.

The owners of the shop, Goldsmiths 3, noticed in April that the mother duck had built her nest and laid eggs. They set up a webcam and began broadcasting the doings in the nest to the world. The webcam refreshes the images every 15 second.

In recent days, the 24/7 show has taken a twist. A bunch of ducklings have been born and have been bustling around the nest.

Robert Fairbank, one of the co-owners of the shop, said, "Most people think it's pretty cool."

The nest is right next to a parking lot so he asks that visitors be very careful. The good news: just beyond the parking lot, there's a mill stream.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:02 PM | Comments (0)

Six job cuts planned at Turnpike in efficiency campaign

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

Massachusetts Turnpike Authority officials this week notified six employees that their jobs are being eliminated in a cost-cutting move.

The union workers, who include a paralegal, a motor pool driver and staffers in the finance department, have not been terminated yet, said Turnpike officials, who refused to release their names. Under their union contract, officials said, the employees may have bumping rights, entitling them to a different job at the cash-strapped agency.

But eventually, said Turnpike Authority executive director Alan LeBovidge, six positions will be cut from the payroll.

Those targeted by the cuts on Thursday were given the option of continuing to work while officials negotiate with the Steelworkers Union over the cutbacks, or taking a three-week paid leave of absence.

"As you know, the governor asked that I come in here and pursue reforms, and that's what we're doing," said LeBovidge. "As part of that we're looking at all of the positions in the Turnpike Authority to make it as efficient as possible."

A Steelworkers Union representative could not be reached yesterday for comment.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:33 PM | Comments (0)

State rep says his nomination papers were stolen; judge is unmoved

(Globe File Photo)

Sciortino in his district in 2004.

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

State Representative Carl M. Sciortino Jr. says his nomination papers were sitting on his State House desk in late April. But by early May, they were gone -- stolen, Sciortino contends, in an apparent act of political skulduggery.

But today, a state Superior Court judge was not buying his excuse.

Judge Linda E. Giles denied the Medford Democrat's request that he appear on the September primary ballot even without the 150 voter nomination signatures required to qualify.

Sciortino had kept papers with 72 voter signatures in his unlocked, basement office of the State House. Giles noted in her ruling that he presented no evidence they were stolen.

'''The court is not unsympathetic to the plight of Sciortino, the apparent victim of innocent, very human inadvertence,'' Giles said. ''Nevertheless, the duty to keep one's important nomination papers safe and reproduced photostatically is not onerous.''

In other words: if your political opponents ate your homework, too bad.

Sciortino said yesterday he will continue to pursue his case in court, noting that Giles' ruling was merely a rejection of his request for immediate relief, not of his entire case.

''It is a setback, but not a closed door yet,'' Sciortino said of his failure to get an immediate injunction in his favor.

With the loss of 72 signatures, Sciortino had only 114 of the 150 signatures required. If he continues to lose in court, his only option may be to run as a write-in candidate.

A 29-year-old gay activist, Sciortino first won his office by beating a veteran lawmaker, Vincent P. Ciampa, in 2004. His victory marked a major shift in the Somerville/Medford district that was once a blue-collar dominated district known for its gritty politics.

A Somerville alderman, Robert Trane, has qualified for the Democratic primary ballot this year and would be facing Sciortino if he manages to get on the ballot or runs as a write-in candidate.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:27 PM | Comments (0)

Mukasey challenges BC law grads not to fear difficult choices

(Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)

Cornelia Sullivan and Alice Kast of Boston, and Christina Abbey of Revere protested at Attorney General Michael Mukasey's commencement speech at Boston College Law School. "We don't think someone who is so 'wishy-washy' on law is a good role model for lawyers," said Abbey.

By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff

NEWTON -- With protesters gathered outside Boston College Law School, US Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey urged graduates yesterday not to shy away from difficult choices, including ones that challenge their ethics or lead to "relentless public criticism."

"A lawyer's principal duty is to advise his client as to what the best reading of the law is," Mukasy said. "If you do your job well, there will be times when you will have to advise clients that the law prohibits them from doing things that they want to do, or that might even be, in your view, the right thing to do. And there will be times when you will have to advise clients that the law permits them to take actions that you may find imprudent or even wrong."

Mukasey also defended former government lawyers who drew up the legal basis of the Bush administration's use of harsh interrogation methods against suspects in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, saying they should not be held liable or face criminal charges. Some of the lawyers are facing civil lawsuits, including former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, who worked in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel from 2001-2003.

Outside the commencement, about 25 people rallied against Mukasy's silence on the national debate over what constitutes torture.

At his confirmation hearings last fall, Mukasey refused to say whether he thought waterboarding, a simulated drowning technique the CIA uses on detainees, is legal. The protesters yesterday wore orange prison jumpsuits, like the type military detainees wear, to draw attention to what they say is the the use of torture by the United States.

Christina Abbey, who wore a black hood like those some prisoners are forced to wear during interrogation, said she was deeply disappointed that the country's top lawyer has failed to address the waterboarding issue and that college officials thought he was a good candidate for commencement speaker. A member of the Catholic peace group Pax Christi of Boston, she drove to the law school from Revere to voice her objection.

"A graduation speaker is supposed to be a good role model for the graduates," she said. "I just feel really upset about the fact that a Catholic institution would be putting this person up on the stage and saying, 'This is the thing to do.' ''

More than 20 faculty members at BC Law School had asked Mukasey to rescind his decision to deliver the commencement address because of his refusal to publicly declare that waterboarding constitutes torture.

In March, law school dean John Garvey announced the school would not award Mukasey the Founder's Medal -- its highest honor -- at commencement. But he said the decision was made independently of the controversy around his invitation to address the graduating class.

Posted by rgreene at 6:24 PM | Comments (0)

You've got mail -- from the cardinal

By Globe Staff

Turn off that spam filter. Check that inbox. You've got mail -- and if you're an observant Catholic you'll probably want to open it.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley announced today he would reach out through cyberspace to Catholics throughout the region via a weekly email.

The initial message will go to approximately 10,000 email addresses recently provided to archdiocesan agencies and affiliates. O'Malley hopes to eventually include every Catholic household in the region that has an email account.

The "Weekly Email from Cardinal Sean & The Pilot" will include special messages from O'Malley, content from his blog, news releases from the archdiocese, and links to stories in the archdioceses's newspaper, The Pilot.

"This weekly email initiative will increase communication and connection among Catholics across the Archdiocese," O'Malley said in a statement.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:48 PM | Comments (0)

Python nailed to pole in Lawrence recovers at animal hospital

(Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff)

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A two-foot-long ball python that was found nailed to a telephone pole in Lawrence earlier this week is recovering today at the MSPCA's Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston.

One of the nails used to impale the python to a telephone pole.

The snake was found Wednesday afternoon by an animal control officer near the corner of Buswell and Lexington Streets with five roofing nails through its body. The nails -- behind the jaw, through the tail, and along the body -- missed all the major organs, said Brian Adams, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The MSPCA's law enforcement department is investigating what happened to the snake, which has been named Trent by the group's officials. The MSPCA is offering a $500 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible. The organization urged anyone with information to call 617-522-6008.

Adams said officials believe that the snake may have been nailed up as a warning to somebody. "We have to find out who's trying to warn who," he said. He said the incident could also be "someone pulling a sick prank."

MSPCA officials suspect the snake was nailed on the pole Tuesday night. It was sighted the next morning by schoolchildren on the way to school, Adams said, before it was reported to authorities that afternoon.

"If he had been left there any longer, most likely he would have just died," Adams said.

Adams said the snake was being treated with painkillers and antibiotics after being impaled by the 2-inch-long nails, but appeared likely to survive.

"We're hoping he does pull through," he said.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:00 PM | Comments (0)

Police look for solutions after children falsely report crimes

By Globe Staff

After two cases this week in which children fabricated reports of crimes, the Boston Police say they're working with the city schools to develop an educational awareness program highlighting the serious consequences of such actions.

Police also urged parents to have a conversation with their children about the two incidents.

"The department puts a tremendous amount of resources and energy into creating a safe environment for our local youth. Obviously, it is frustrating for us when these resources are squandered," Police Commissioner Ed Davis said in a statement.

On Monday, a 12-year-old boy reported that someone had tried to abduct him. Police said they later learned that he had made up the story.

On Thursday, police searched frantically for a 14-year-old girl who had sent her mother text messages that she was in trouble and being held against her will. Police found the girl and determined that she, too, had fabricated her story.

Police said they would work with the families of the children to get them any social services they need. They also said they would seek to get the children involved in community service.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:54 PM | Comments (0)

No-fly zone imposed near Kennedy compound

The FAA's map of the restricted area.

By Globe Staff

The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed a no-fly zone in the airspace near the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, saying it was acting to ensure that news organizations buzzing continuously over the area didn't cause a safety hazard to other planes.

"Unless you have a need to be in that airspace, you won't get in," said FAA spokesman Jim Peters. "The (order) is very clear. No loitering."

The zone was imposed at 7 p.m. Wednesday -- the day Senator Edward M. Kennedy returned home from the hospital where he had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor -- and will last until 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Peters said it was a busy time of the year in the area, and the order was imposed "to maintain safety of the airspace."

The no-fly zone -- a cylinder with a 3-mile radius extending up to a height of 5,000 feet -- does not apply to law enforcement, medical evacuation, or military flights, flights going in or out of the Barnstable Municipal Airport, or flights being guided by air traffic controllers, he said.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:05 PM | Comments (0)

Ocean zoning law approved by Legislature

By Globe Staff

A bill that would allow wind farms and other renewable energy projects in waters off the Massachusetts coast is poised to become law.

The Massachusetts Ocean Act received final approvals last night from the state's House and Senate and is now on the desk of Governor Deval Patrick, who has said he would sign it.

The bill would create the nation's first comprehensive ocean zoning plan for waters out to 3 miles, allowing fisheries, renewable energy production, and marine conservation.

State Senator Bruce Tarr said the plan was necessary because a growing number of uses have been proposed for the ocean.

"The reason it's important is you have things like LNG (liquefied natural gas terminals), wind turbines, other kinds of uses of the ocean, proposed at a pace that's increasing. We don't have the luxury anymore of being able to react to these one at a time," he said.

The legislation is expected to have no impact on the controversial Cape Wind project, which is in federal waters.

"Just as we have well-established laws for the use of our land, it's about time that we have a framework and process in place to protect one of the Commonwealth's greatest assets," Senate President Therese Murray said in a statement.

The bill calls for the state energy and environmental affairs secretary to write an ocean management plan. The plan would be completed by the end of next year, with the help of a 17-member task force and a science advisory council.

"Right now, it's the wild west off the Bay State's coast," Jack Clarke, director of public policy and government relations for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, said in a statement. "This bill is an opportunity to manage ocean sprawl based on sound science, smart economics, and sensible management principles."

Posted by mfinucane at 1:38 PM | Comments (0)

Buckets brimming with herring

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff/file)

Some of the beneficiaries of last year's bucket brigade.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Fifty volunteers formed a bucket brigade this morning at the Medford Boat Club, but they are not bailing out a boat or dousing a fire. They came to help river herring.

The fish migrate upstream to spawn, but in the past river herring were stymied at a dam near the boat club that separates the Lower and Upper Mystic lakes. Three years ago the boat club and state Division of Marine Fisheries decided to do something about it.

The first year, a bucket brigade got about 500 fish over the dam. The next year they scooped up 4,000 fish from the Lower Mystic Lake and deposited them on the other side.

"Last year we helped over 19,000 over the dam," said Mary Griffin, commissioner of the state Department of Fish & Game. "This year it's been a little slower. The fish aren't running as fast [but] ... they come in waves, so it could be more this morning."

Officials hope to break the 20,000 fish mark this year. Up to 100 volunteers, including children and parents, are expected to grab buckets on Saturday.

River herring, which include alewife and the blueback species, live their first months in freshwater lakes before heading out to sea. The fish then return to freshwater to spawn. The state is planning to build a new dam that will include a fish ladder, Globe NorthWest reported Thursday.

Posted by mfinucane at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2008

Boston Police say 14-year-old's kidnapping was a hoax

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

Boston Police say they were the victims of a hoax today when they launched a major search for a 14-year-old Dorchester girl who was simply skipping school.

Alexus Clarke, a resident of Monadnock Street, was nervous that her mother might be angry at her for being a truant. So she text-messaged her mother, saying that she was in trouble and being held against her will, said Police Superintendent Daniel Linskey.

"As a father, I feel happy a 14-year-old girl is safe and unharmed. As a police officer, I'm a little upset we wasted some time," said Linskey.

Clarke was reported missing at about 9:30 a.m. She was found by police at about 5:30 p.m.

Linskey said dozens of officers spent hours looking for Clarke, who is in eighth grade at a Boston middle school.

Posted by jellement at 6:58 PM | Comments (0)

Kennedy pleads with wife to sail in regatta

(Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

Kennedy and his wife paused on the pier to answer questions from the media before heading toward the sailboat.

By David Abel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

HYANNIS PORT -- It became evident today where US Senator Edward M. Kennedy honed his ability to negotiate and compromise: at home during playful disagreements with his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy.

The subject this afternoon was whether the ailing senator would participate in the annual Figawi regatta, a three-day race from Hyannis Port to Nantucket that begins Saturday.

"I don't know," Kennedy said when asked about the race by reporters as the couple boarded their 50-foot schooner for an afternoon sail. "One day at a time."

When another reporter asked about the race, Victoria Reggie Kennedy had had enough.

"Stop talking about the Figawi," she said, cutting off the senator before he could answer. Victoria Reggie Kennedy implied that her husband had enlisted the media to help convince her that he should compete in the race. The senator tried to strike a bargain: How about sailing just one leg?

"Is this a conspiracy?" she asked with a knowing smile. "I want to know."

Kennedy stammered and did not answer.

"This is a conspiracy," Victoria Reggie Kennedy declared.

The senator laughed. "You can tell how this is going," he said.

Kennedy had been scheduled to give the commencement speech Sunday at Wesleyan University, so he could not ever have been planning to participate in the full Figawi. (Senator Barack Obama is now giving the speech.)

However the banter today with his wife showed a personal side of a man who has made few public comments since his diagnosis this week with a malignant brain tumor. Before sailing off again on the Mya with his Portuguese water dogs, Sunny and Splash, the senator took the time to reiterate his thanks to his doctors and nurses, senate colleagues, and the well wishers from across the globe.

"It's been very uplifting," Kennedy said. "Very touching."

Posted by aryan at 5:43 PM | Comments (0)

Revere chiropractor charged with molesting patients

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A Revere-based chiropractor is being held without bail on charges that he molested two of his female physical therapy clients.

Jeffrey Keller, 53, of Peabody, was charged with four counts of indecent assault and battery after Revere Police found evidence that he had inappropriate physical contact with two women in his office on Shirley Avenue in Revere, according to a press release from Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

One woman, a 26-year-old from Medford, contacted authorities earlier this month. Authorities found the report similar to one made earlier this year by a 37-year-old woman from Lynn.

Keller pleaded not guilty in Chelsea District Court on Tuesday and was also ordered to stay away from and have no contact with either victim. He will be back in court July 16.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:32 PM | Comments (0)

Baker House officials pledge to continue programs, despite fire damage

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By John R. Ellement and Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

Investigators believe that arson was the cause of a fire at the Ella J. Baker House overnight that charred the rear of the Dorchester community center, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

No one was injured in the blaze, but it caused an estimated $350,000 to $500,000 in damage. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are on the scene because the building housed a chapel. It is a federal crime to burn a church.

“I don’t know why anyone would want to burn down a community center and a church that serves some of the most neglected children in this city,’’ said Rev. Eugene F. Rivers 3d, who runs the Baker House. “I can imagine, although I can’t confirm this, that it may have been a disgruntled ex-employee or some individual that has personal hostility against me."

At a news conference this afternoon, Baker House officials, including Rivers, executive director Kevin Peterson, and Leonard Lee, chairman of the board of directors, addressed reporters. They were flanked by teenagers who go regularly to the Baker House, which has after-school programs and mentors young people at risk of joining gangs or becoming violent.

Lee vowed to keep the programs at the House going.

"If we have to pitch a tent in the front of this building so that we can serve this community, then that is what we will do," he said. "Our doors will open again."

Officials said that they hope that in the next week they can open office space the Baker House owns on Washington Street.

"The fire that drives us is just as strong, stronger in fact, much stronger, than the fire that consumed a portion of this building," said Rev. Mark Scott, a senior pastor of the Azusa Christian Community, a church based inside the Baker House.

Teenagers who rely on the center said they were horrified to learn of the fire and said they would help rebuild it.

"I kind of pretty much love the place," said Laurence Graham, a 16-year-old freshman at Charlestown High School who lives in Dorchester. "Why would anyone try to burn this place? There is no answer to find out why someone would try to get rid of such a positive place in the community."

The two-alarm fire was first reported at 10:40 p.m., said spokesman Steve MacDonald of the Boston Fire Department. The flames burned a rear wooden stairwell. The house also sustained interior smoke and water damage when Boston firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Rivers said he and others participated in a Bible study class Wednesday that ended around 8:45 p.m. He was notified about the fire around 11:15 p.m.

The Baker House has had recent financial troubles and staff members have been laid off, the Globe reported last year.

Posted by jellement at 4:58 PM | Comments (0)

Obama to stand in for Kennedy at Wesleyan commencement

By David Abel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

HYANNIS PORT -- US Senator Edward M. Kennedy will not give the commencement speech Sunday at Wesleyan University, but he has found a replacement who will also make headlines -- Barack Obama.

"Considering what he's done for me and for our country, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him," Obama, an Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate, said in a statement. "So I'm looking forward to standing in his place on Sunday even though I know I won't be able to fill his shoes."

Before the official announcement, Kennedy was coy when he spoke to reporters on a dock as he was heading out for an afternoon sail on his 50-foot schooner.

"I think it's unlikely," Kennedy said when asked whether he would give the speech.

A few minutes later, Kennedy's office issued a statement that said Obama would be giving the speech in his place, calling it "an historic opportunity for the school and all those attending." Kennedy's stepdaughter, Caroline Raclin, will be graduating from Wesleyan on Sunday and his son, Teddy Jr., will be in attendance.

The possibility of Obama delivering the graduation speech at Wesleyan first arose when Obama and Kennedy talked by telephone last Sunday, according to those familiar with the plans. Obama offered his help in whatever way he could; Kennedy apparently had an idea.

The Kennedy side followed up today, initiating a call to Obama, and the two senators talked directly about Obama delivering the speech. Obama immediately accepted the invitation.

Kennedy has no plans to attend the graduation ceremonies, which would involve a full day of travel, according to those familiar with his plans.

Posted by aryan at 3:35 PM | Comments (0)

Police investigate 3 assaults near Harvard

(Dina Rudick/Globe Staff/file)

Three students have been assaulted in May near the campus of
Harvard University.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Cambridge police are investigating the third attack this month of a student near Harvard University after a male undergraduate was tackled from behind Wednesday night and physically assaulted, according to an advisory issued to students.

The student was walking near Grant and Banks streets at 9 a.m. when he was attacked. The student fought back and was able to escape without injury, the advisory said.

The student described the perpetrator as a man in his 20s with a medium build, a large scar on his forehead, and a light goatee. Campus police are working with Cambridge police, but no suspects have been identified, said Joe Wrinn, a Harvard spokesperson.

It was not immediately clear if the three attacks are connected. Cambridge police did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

The first assault occurred May 6 near the school’s Lamont Library on Quincy Street, according to the Harvard Crimson newspaper and Harvard police logs. A man snuck up on a female student from behind and put a wire around her neck. The student kicked her attacker and fled.

A fourth possible assault was reported at 12:50 a.m. on May 11 at the Widener Gate on Harvard Yard, according to the logs. Police were dispatched to the scene of a reported assault but the alleged victim left before officers arrived.

Posted by aryan at 2:44 PM | Comments (0)

Officers honored for burning car rescue

By Globe Staff

Two state troopers were honored today at a Statehouse ceremony for saving the occupants of a car that had crashed and burst into flames off Interstate 495 late last year.

Troopers Kevin S. Haley and Kyle A. Flanagan received Medals of Valor for their actions in the Nov. 8 incident. The troopers had been pursuing the car after it failed to stop in Chelmsford, State Police said in a statement.

After the car crashed into a wooded area off 495 in Bolton, fire immediately broke out in the engine compartment.

The troopers removed the passenger first. As they removed the driver, the fire flared up, spreading through the car. The car later exploded, sending debris flying. Both occupants were treated for their injuries, but they are expected to make a full recovery.

A total of 26 state and local police officers, as well as nine civilians, were recognized today for bravery, for going beyond the call of duty or contributing to public safety.

"Protecting and serving the public is a noble mission, and the officers and civilians being recognized today best illustrate what it means to serve," said Colonel Mark Delaney, commander of the State Police.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:19 PM | Comments (0)

Police probe whether Silver Lake students made 'hit lists'

By Globe Staff

Two students at Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston raised suspicions when they wrote lists of their fellow students, and they are being kept out of school while police investigate whether they pose a threat, the school district's superintendent said today.

A teacher became concerned when she saw a male student throw away a piece of paper on Friday. She retrieved it and saw a list of four names. On Monday, a female student was also found to be writing a list containing two names.

"At this point in time, we're taking it very seriously. ... Frankly, we take any threat as a serious threat until it's sort of proved otherwise," said Superintendent John Tuffy, who wouldn't describe what raised school officials' suspicions about the lists.

Tuffy said it wasn't clear if the two students were linked.

"That's being looked into right now. There are a number of questions that we all would like answers to," he said.

Kingston Police Chief Joseph Rebello didn't immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

Posted by mfinucane at 1:39 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick: 'Significant progress' made at crime lab

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

The State Police crime laboratory, criticized in recent years for inefficiency and mishandling of DNA and other evidence, has dramatically slashed its backlog and turnaround time by increasing staff and purchasing robotic work stations, Governor Deval Patrick and other law enforcement officials said today.

"We have made significant process in a short time, and I thank all levels of law enforcement and our prosecutors for their partnership in that effort," Patrick said today, addressing a crowd of about 600 people at the 14th Annual Massachusetts Prosecutors Conference at the Seaport Hotel in South Boston. "We know that the work that takes place at those labs is a force multiplier."

According to statistics provided by the State Police, it took an average of 91 days to process a single DNA case in late 2006. By the beginning of this year, a single case took an average of 60 days. In the first four months of 2006, 112 cases were completed. That figured soared to 330 in the first four months of 2008.

The president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, Michael O'Keefe, said the crime lab and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner have been vastly improved, but added "any entity that has been neglected for many years isn't going to be repaired overnight. It may take a number of years to repair, but we are on the right path."

The crime lab has recently analyzed DNA evidence that officials said has been important to several cases, and crucial to at least one ongoing case, suspected serial killer Alex F. Scesny.

Scesny, 38, is being held without bail after pleading not guilty to a charge stemming from the alleged rape of a girlfriend in a West Boylston motel last year. The Berlin resident has been declared a person of interest in the slayings of six women in Worcester and Middlesex counties.

Posted by aryan at 1:31 PM | Comments (0)

50-mile march pushes for CORI reform

(Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff)

Walkers, including Angela Valez (center) and Gloriana Candelaria (under umbrella), both of Holyoke, head toward the State House.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

About 120 advocates pushing to reform criminal records law converged on Bunker Hill Community College today for the last leg of a march from Worcester to the State House.

"These 50 miles don't compare to the struggles we face everyday," said Yakov Kronrod, a founding member of Ex-prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement.

Misdemeanor convictions stay on a person's criminal record in Massachusetts for 10 years and felonies remain for 15 years. These convictions can be seen by potential employers, and advocates say the records are routinely used to deny people jobs after they have paid their debt to society.

Governor Deval Patrick introduced a bill that would cut the time in half that a person must wait to have their criminal records sealed. Patrick's proposal has stalled in the Legislature along with a more comprehensive bill called the Public Safety Act, which would further reduce the waiting period and provide more protections for job-seekers with criminal records.

The protesters plan to rally at the State House this afternoon. The march began in Worcester on Sunday and protesters stayed overnight in churches en route to Boston.

Posted by aryan at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

Authorities probe apparent murder-suicide in Norfolk

By Globe Staff

A 68-year-old Norfolk man and his 46-year-old son were found dead in the father's home in Norfolk Wednesday afternoon, and police are investigating whether the son, who had a history of mental illness, killed his father and then killed himself, prosecutors said.

Edmund J. Brabants and Edmund J. Brabants Jr. of North Attleboro were found at about 4:30 p.m. at the home on Stony Road, the Norfolk district attorney's office said in a statement.

State and local police are investigating, and the bodies of the two men are undergoing autopsies today. But prosecutors said "preliminary indications" were that the case was probably a murder-suicide.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)

Pedestrian killed on Interstate 95 in Wakefield

By Globe Staff

A 24-year-old Lynn woman crashed her car on Interstate 95 North in Wakefield early today, then got out and walked into the roadway, where she was struck and killed by another car, State Police said.

Lauren Casey lost control of her 2000 Mercury Sable at about 2:45 a.m. The car left the road to the right, crashed into a guardrail, and came to rest at the bottom of an embankment, police said in a statement.

After the crash, Casey got out of her car and walked into the road, where she was struck by a 2002 Lincoln Continental in the middle travel lane, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash is being investigated by State Police.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)

Worcester family of 5 saved from burning triple decker

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Worcester firefighters made a series of daring rescues this morning when they pulled a family of five out of the third-floor window of a burning triple decker.

Before fire companies arrived to fight the 4 a.m. blaze on Goulding Street, some residents had already jumped out of a second-floor window. Once on scene, firefighters moved quickly and used a ladder to save the family on the third floor, who were trapped with some children.

"It was a very difficult rescue," said District Fire Chief Frank Diliddo III. "There was heavy fire when they first arrived."

All five family members suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to the hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available. One firefighter suffered second-degree burns and was also taken to the hospital.

The fire quickly engulfed all three floors, and it took firefighters more than 90 minutes to extinguish the flames, Diliddo said. The cause and origin of the blaze is under investigation.

The three-alarm fire displaced roughly a dozen people. The American Red Cross is helping people find shelter.

Posted by aryan at 9:19 AM | Comments (0)

Fuel truck crashes in Avon

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

A truck carrying about 400 gallons of diesel fuel crashed on Route 24 in Avon early today when it swerved to avoid another vehicle and hit the median, state officials said. The crash, which occurred just before 5 a.m. near Exit 19, triggered a chain reaction that caused two other collisions, said Sergeant Timothy Finn, a State Police spokesman.

The driver of the fuel truck suffered minor injuries when he crashed into the concrete Jersey barrier dividing the north and southbound lanes. The truck came to rest straddling the median and blocking or slowing traffic for miles in both directions, Finn said. Moments later, a northbound Dodge Caravan hit the truck, spun into the breakdown lane, and rammed another vehicle that had stopped to help. The driver of the Caravan also suffered minor injuries, Finn said. The crash remains under investigation.

Ed Colletta, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said none of the truck's cargo spilled; but about 30 gallons leaked from the saddle tanks, which run the tanker. That impacted a few catch basins but caused no major environmental concern, Colletta said.

Posted by aryan at 8:35 AM | Comments (0)

May 21, 2008

From hospital to sailboat: Kennedy finds renewal on the water

(Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

Senator Kennedy, his wife, Victoria and their dogs, Splash and Sunny back on land after sailing on their sailboat, Mya at the Hyannis Port Yacht Club.

By David Abel, Globe Staff

HYANNIS PORT -- Hours out of the hospital, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy sought refuge this afternoon in the serenity of Nantucket Sound, taking his 50-foot schooner on a two-hour sail.

"It was wonderful to be on the water," Kennedy said, shuffling off a dock after his return. "It's all it takes."

Kennedy went for the sail with his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, and their two cherished Portuguese water dogs, Splash and Sunny. It came after a drive back from Massachusetts General Hospital, where the senior senator was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

On the water, Kennedy wore beige corduroy slacks and a red City Year jacket with "Ted" embroidered on the chest. He looked almost regal at the helm, guiding the 1927 wood-hulled boat through the harbor.

On shore, a black sport utility vehicle with tinted windows was waiting for the Kennedys and their dogs. Several neighbors and well wishers stood on the beach shouting, "We love you, Ted," and "God bless you."

The senator responded, "We love you, too, and God bless you."

The well-wishers seemed to be everywhere in Hyannis.

Joan McAuliffe, 75, drove from her home in neighboring Centerville to welcome Kennedy back to the Cape. She was waiting for him as the senator's police-escorted caravan arrived from Boston.

She told him, "Good luck, best wishes, and we hope everything turns out well."

"He waved, looked well, and he seemed to be happy to be home," she said.

Tom Hyland, 65, who was staying in Yarmouth on a getaway from his home in New York, joined throngs of others who wanted to deliver their good wishes in person. "We just wanted him to know he was in our prayers," he said.

Neighbors said they couldn't imagine what it would be like without the senator around. They described a disconnect of living next to a celebrity who they had come to know as a friend.

Over the years, they said he has been like any other neighbor who invited them to his home and went to their parties. His booming baritone is often heard over the shrubs, shouting at his dogs or calling out the score of a tennis game. They see him riding around on his golf cart, voting at Town Hall, and getting takeout at local restaurants like New England Pizza.

"I think what he loves about being here is that he doesn't get special treatment," said Liz Wilson, 58, whose family has owned a home next to the Kennedy's for five generations. "He's as much a part of the neighborhood as anyone else."

Of course, he has played an outsized role here. When Hyannis needs help, Barnstable Town Manager John Klimm knows where to turn.

Klimm said the senator recently helped the town secure $2 million in federal money for a youth center and about $100,000 for a fire boat. He said Kennedy has donated his own money to help a skating rink and written personal checks to needy neighbors.

"Over the years, we've called on the senator on numerous occasions," said Klimm, whose office is covered with pictures of Kennedy's brother, President John F. Kennedy. "He has been such an integral part of the community. It would be a huge loss not to have him around."

News of the senator's cancer hit home at the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum, which the senator has supported in many ways and visits about 10 times a year. His last visit was in April, when he took graduate students from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government to see the collection of more than 100 of his family's photos.

"The senator is really part of this museum," said Rebecca Pierce, co-founder of the museum. "We are looking forward to his next visit."

The news also shook many at the Hyannis Yacht Club, where Kennedy has been a member for decades.

Standing inside the club's white picket fence, Charlie McLaughlin, a town lawyer who helps run the annual Figawi boat race, said he couldn't imagine starting the sailing season without Kennedy leading the way.

He hopes Kennedy stays in the race from Hyannisport to Nantucket, which the senator has won several times over the years.

"I'd be shocked if he wasn't in the race, but he'll have to take that up with his wife," McLaughlin said. "I think if there's any way for him to be in the race, he'll do it. That's who he is. He's a fighter."

Posted by aryan at 7:30 PM | Comments (0)

Yoko Ono wins a round in battle over footage of her late husband

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Yoko Ono won a key battle today in her feud with a Massachusetts company that says it owns the rights to 10 hours of documentary footage of John Lennon and Ono that was shot in 1970 at the couple's estate in England.

US District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel, ruling from the bench in Boston, dismissed a claim by World Wide Video of Lawrence that accused Ono of copyright infringement, according to Ono's lawyer, Jonathan M. Albano.

However, the federal judge allowed Lennon's widow to proceed with her counterclaim against World Wide Video that says she is the rightful owner of the tapes. Zobel is also letting World Wide Video pursue its suit against a Florida man whom the Lawrence company says wrongfully sold the tapes to Ono.

"Mrs. Lennon is very pleased with the court's swift ruling dismissing the lawsuit against her and, more importantly, that the tapes remain with their rightful owners," said a statement issued by Ono's lawyers.

The tapes capture Lennon in one of his most creative periods, shortly after having written "Instant Karma," according to those who have seen it. He is also seen smoking marijuana, discussing how he kicked a heroin habit, and saying he would like to spike Richard Nixon's tea with LSD.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:18 PM | Comments (0)

Former Lawrence official gets probation for bogus military document

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

James F. Stokes, who resigned from the Lawrence School Committee after federal agents arrested him on a charge of forging a military document, got a break today from a federal magistrate who declined to sentence him to jail but said he will forever be "mentally incarcerated for his crime."

As two Vietnam War veterans festooned with medals sat near the front of the spectators' gallery, US Magistrate Judge Joyce L. Alexander sentenced Stokes to two years of probation and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service. She also ordered him to undergo mental health counseling.

"While the court is not inclined to physically incarcerate you," she said as Stokes stood before her, "you will be mentally incarcerated for your actions for the remainder of your days."

She said Stokes, 63, had dishonored veterans across the country by claiming to have served in the US Marine Corps in the late 1960s and to have received numerous medals in Vietnam, including the Purple Heart.

"What were you thinking -- or not thinking?" she said.

As is customary in sentencings, Stokes rose to address the judge before she punished him. But Alexander, without giving an explanation, did not let the defendant speak. Stokes declined to talk to reporters as he left the courtroom.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:55 PM | Comments (0)

Kennedy's brain tumor diagnosis makes headlines in Ireland -- and around the world

The front of the Irish Independent.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

The story of Senator Edward M. Kennedy's diagnosis with a malignant brain tumor made news not just in the United States but around the world.

In Ireland, a country that has long felt a particularly deep bond with the storied Kennedy family, the visage of a weary Kennedy was splashed across the front page of the Irish Independent beneath the headline "Ted Kennedy fights for life with brain tumor."

Along with a news story, the paper offered an analysis by writer Sam Smyth discussing the powerful connection between the Kennedys and the Emerald Isle.

“Being a great and conspicuous friend of Ireland in the United States was as much a part of the Kennedy family tradition as playing ferociously competitive football. And Ted Kennedy took up the banner and was a great friend of this country through more than 30 years of civic strife," Smyth wrote.

"From 1969, every Irish government sought his guidance, help and support. And he was always there to give wise counsel and active support.”

The news of Kennedy's tumor also was reported in a small item on the front of the Irish Times, which directed readers to a story inside the paper saying that the Taoiseach, the Irish prime minister, had written to Kennedy wishing him well on behalf of the government.

News of Kennedy's illness also made the front page in such farflung newspapers as the El Nuevo Dia in San Juan, Puerto Rico; the Diario do Comercio in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and the Corriere Della Sera in Milan, Italy.

Myriad websites also carried stories, many of them already reporting the latest news -- Kennedy's release today from the hospital and sailboat ride.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:40 PM | Comments (0)

Watertown state rep appointed as Registrar of Motor Vehicles

(File Photo)

A 2006 picture of Representative Kaprielian.

By Globe Staff

Watertown State Representative Rachel Kaprielian has been named the state's new Registrar of Motor Vehicles, the governor's office announced today.

Kaprielian is a "skilled and committed public servant who will bring new energy to the RMV," Governor Deval Patrick said in a statement.

Kaprielian is in her seventh term representing Watertown and part of Cambridge. A Watertown resident, she graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1990, earned a law degree from Suffolk University in 2000, and a master's in public administration from Harvard University in 2003.

Patrick also moved to beef up the political expertise in his office with the appointment of Arthur R. Bernard, who was chief of staff to former Senate President Robert Travaglini and who has has a long resume of work in legislative and government agencies.

Bernard, a Duxbury resident, will take over as senior adviser to the governor early next month. In addition to serving under Travaglini, he has worked as a lawyer at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and at the Senate Ways and Means Committee. He is currently a vice chancellor at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:56 PM | Comments (0)

Boston police probe Roxbury double stabbing

By Globe Staff

Boston police are investigating a double stabbing in Roxbury this afternoon that left a man and woman wounded.

Police said the two victims were attacked around 4.30 p.m. on Howard Street.

The female was stabbed in the stomach and the man was wounded in the arm, Boston Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said.

Both victims were rushed to Boston Medical Center. Authorities said their injuries appeared to be non-life-threatening.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:27 PM | Comments (0)

Northeastern president: Slain student was 'one of our brightest young lights'

By Globe Staff

The president of Northeastern University said today that Rebecca Payne, a student who was found slain Tuesday in her apartment was "one of our brightest young lights," a spiritual young woman who was dedicated to her studies and passionate about the causes in which she was involved.

Rebecca Payne

"Becca epitomized all that is best about Northeastern University students. Having her taken so suddenly leaves a hole that will never be filled for her parents, Nicholas and Virginia, and her family and friends, as well as our entire university community," Joseph E. Aoun said in a statement.

Payne, 22, of New Milford, Conn., was found dead in her apartment on Parker Hill Avenue in the Mission Hill neighborhood. She was shot twice in the legs and once in the chest. The crime rattled the quiet neighborhood near the school's campus.

Aoun said that Payne, a senior in the Bouve College of Health Sciences, was excited about her co-op jobs -- which are an integral part of a Northeastern education. She was also president of the Athletic Training Club, served on the Dean's Council, was involved with the Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministry and other spiritual initiatives on campus, and enjoyed working with children at a summer camp, he said.

Meanwhile, Boston Police today continued to investigate the crime, which was the city's 23d homicide of the year.

Police were still trying to determine if Payne knew her assailant. They said today there was no apparent sign of forced entry at the apartment.

"Detectives will continue to follow the evidence wherever it takes us and are actively pursuing all information that comes forward," Superintendent Bruce Holloway said.

Several witnesses had reported hearing multiple gunshots between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., but the police were not notified at that time, police said in a statement. One witness observed a black van leaving the area.

The shooting shocked the neighborhood, where elderly residents and families mix with college students from Northeastern University and Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Police said they had increased patrol presence in the area and they had also reached out to local colleges to distribute information urging students to take safety precautions.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:25 PM | Comments (0)

Tips on how to save money at the pump

By Globe Staff

With gas prices soaring and the Memorial Day weekend approaching, here are some tips from the state Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation and the Federal Trade Commission on how to save money at the pump:

-- Drive at moderate speeds. (Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.)
-- Stop aggressive driving. Avoid "jackrabbit" starts and stops.
-- Combine errands. Several short trips use more gas than one longer trip.
-- Use overdrive gears and cruise control on the highway.
-- Remove excess weight from the trunk.
-- Avoid packing items on the top of the car, which can create wind resistance.
-- Keep engine tuned to manufacturer's specifications.
-- Keep tires properly inflated and aligned.
-- Change oil regularly.
-- Replace air filters regularly.
-- Use the octane level you need. Most cars use regular.

In the long term, the office said, consider carpooling or alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:14 PM | Comments (0)

His job: selling gas for $4 a gallon

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Bob Doucette has owned North Wilmington Citgo Services on Middlesex Avenue in Wilmington for decades and times have never been so tough. His business has dropped off 20 percent in the past year, he said, and he’s had to change the ways he’s done business his whole career.

He said he buys gas about every five days. Monday’s order cost him $45,000.

“That’s the highest. First load of gas I bought was $6,000,” he recalled. “That was back in 1958.”

Gas at Doucette’s full-service station broke $4 per gallon today, rising to $4.08 for regular. “It’s gone up 20 cents in the last week,” he lamented.

“I’ve seen the good times and the bad times, and these are very bad times,” Doucette said. He said he’s trying to run his station the way he always has, but economic conditions are making his station feel like a thing of the past.

He’s had to lay off two employees in the past year and is considering changing his closing time from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m. He’s seeing his regulars less frequently because they're just not buying as much gas.

At the same time, he said, he hasn't heard too many complaints. “Not many people are complaining because they’ve come to expect it,” he said.

Gas that costs more than $4 a gallon has begun to arrive in Massachusetts -- and not just on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Dalton’s Gulf in Medford, for example, is charging $4.19 a gallon for self-service unleaded and Arbuckle Mobil in Needham, a full-service station, is charging $4.01.

The average price across the state today is $3.79, said Mary Maguire, director of public and legislative affairs for AAA Southern New England. Prices have increased for six consecutive weeks and are the highest they’ve ever been, shattering a record set during Hurricane Katrina, Maguire said. Experts, she said, expect the average to go even higher.

Meanwhile today, the state Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, said that with prices soaring and the summer travel season set to begin Memorial Day weekend, state inspectors had been conducting spot checks statewide of gas pumps to make sure that drivers are getting their money's worth. The office also offered tips for saving money on gas from the Federal Trade Commission.

Back in Needham, at Arbuckle Mobil, an attendant who didn't give his name said both drivers and gas stations are doing their best to cope with high prices.

"People are just buying the gas because that's all they can do and we're just trying to price it as good as we can," he said.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:12 PM | Comments (0)

Casino debate gets a second wind on Beacon Hill

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

The great Massachusetts casino debate could be back.

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, in a startling departure from previous stances against resort gambling, today decided for the first time to back a November ballot question asking voters whether they support casinos in Massachusetts.

Separately, the Senate this afternoon derailed a Republican-led effort to resurrect the governor’s failed resort gaming bill as an amendment to the state budget. The proposal failed on a 29-9 vote, with senators deciding instead to establish a study commission to look at gambling.

Political observers, lawmakers, and legislative aides throughout the State House were scratching their heads over DiMasi’s apparent switch in position.

By midafternoon, Governor Deval Patrick had yet to respond to DiMasi’s call.

Senate President Therese Murray said through a spokesman that she does not support a casino ballot question as part of the budget, but would support it if DiMasi initiated separate legislation.

“The president does not support the question of a casino referendum as part of this budget,” said her spokesman, David Falcone. “She agrees with the speaker that the budget is not the proper vehicle for this matter. If, however, a separate piece of legislation were to be filed by the speaker in regard to this matter she would support a full debate by the Senate.”

The idea of a ballot question was first floated in March by Senator Steven C. Panagiotakos, a Lowell Democrat, who argued that casino opponents in the House would be persuaded if the public were given a chance to voice their opinion.

The referendum would also trigger a massive amount of spending from interests on both sides of the casino debate, perhaps including efforts from the Connecticut casinos to quash the idea and protect their current business. In 2006, gambling-related ballot questions in five states triggered $53.7 million in spending, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Nearly 90 percent of the money was supplied by pro-gambling interests.

“I remain opposed to casino gambling,” DiMasi said in a statement issued this morning. “But, given the magnitude of what the Senate is considering, I would support as a compromise Senator Panagiotakos’ proposal to put an advisory question on casinos before voters this fall.”

Public opinion polls have routinely showed that Massachusetts residents support Governor Deval Patrick’s proposal to legalize casino gambling. A Globe poll last September showed that 53 percent favored the governor’s proposal.

“The speaker agreeing to a referendum, there’s a lot of momentum for it,” said Richard Tisei, the Senate minority leader and a gambling proponent. “It certainly shows that the idea of casino gambling is moving forward. Over the long term, there’s a recognition that casinos are coming and we’d better get in front of the train.”

DiMasi has been weakened by recent ethical allegations, and was put in a difficult position when amendments to revitalize the casino debate began gaining steam in the Senate.

Putting a question on the ballot would require House and Senate approval.

"The House's argument has been that it's going to change the culture and character of Massachusetts," Panagiotakos told the Globe in March, as he was making the case for a ballot question. "Well, the best to decide that is the people of Massachusetts."

Posted by aryan at 4:09 PM | Comments (0)

It pays to know geography -- just ask William Lee

(Rebecca Hale/National Geographic)

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

William Lee, an eighth-grader at a Woburn middle school, said he’s been studying for months in preparation for the annual National Geographic Bee.

All his hard work paid off today when he ranked third in the finals, earning a college scholarship of $10,000.

“We’re very proud of him; he’s done a great job,” said Joyce Middle School Principal Thomas Qualey.

Woburn has been participating in the bee, geared for grades 4 through 8, for at least 15 years of the 20 it’s been held, said geography teacher Joseph Tuzzolo. He said it’s a great opportunity for students to get immersed in a subject that can sometimes get overlooked.

The first round of the bee is at the school level. About 1,000 students participate in this level from Woburn, Qualey said. Each school in the state can have one winner, who takes a test.

The top 100 qualifying students, based on test scores, are chosen to represent their schools and compete at the state level. One student from each state and territory then moves on to the nationals in Washington D.C. The top 10 of those make it into the final round, which was held earlier today.

Lee was excited about his win this year, having put in so much work.

“There’s no one book to study,” he said. “You have to just study everything with anything that has to do with geography.”

The first place winner was a sixth-grader from Lincoln, Neb., who was awarded a $25,000 college scholarship, Qualey said.

The final round, hosted by Alex Trebek, will be televised tonight on the National Geographic Channel.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:40 PM | Comments (0)

Alleged mobster 'Cheese Man' is released on bail

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

DiNunzio's North End cheese shop. He will not be allowed to work there while his case is pending.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

A federal magistrate freed reputed New England Mafia underboss Carmen "The Cheese Man" DiNunzio on $20,000 cash bail this afternoon but warned him not to violate the strict conditions of his release.

"If you violate ... the remedy can be not only forfeiture of the bond but incarceration," US Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein said during a 15-minute hearing at US District Court in Boston.

DiNunzio, 50, who has been jailed since his May 2 arrest on a one-count federal indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery, nodded several times as the magistrate described a litany of restrictions. A massive man who weighs more than 400 pounds and has bags under his eyes, DiNunzio said nothing.

DiNunzio must continue to live in the East Boston house he shares with his mother and sister; wear an electronic tracking bracelet; leave home only for court or visits to his lawyer or doctor; submit to random searches of his home by the FBI; and avoid contact with any potential witnesses or codefendants in his case. He will not be allowed to work at his Endicott Street cheese shop in Boston's North End while on bail.

He is expected to return to his home later this afternoon after posting bail.

He and two associates are accused of paying a $10,000 bribe in September 2006 to an undercover FBI agent posing as a corrupt Massachusetts highway inspector in a bid to secure a $6 million contract to provide 300,000 cubic yards of loam, a soil mix, to the Big Dig. Prosecutors have played tapes at a court hearing of some of DiNunzio's meetings with the agent and a cooperating witness.

Dein also ordered the release today of DiNunzio's codefendant, Anthony D'Amore, 55, of Revere, on $20,000 cash bail and set similar restrictions. The third man charged in the case, trucking company owner Andrew Marino, 42, of Chelmsford, was released on his own recognizance the day of his arrest.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:14 PM | Comments (0)

Kennedy leaves hospital after diagnosis of malignant tumor

By Brian C. Mooney, John R. Ellement, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

US Senator Edward M. Kennedy left Massachusetts General Hospital today and returned to Hyannis Port, heading home a day after the world learned that the last surviving brother of the famed Kennedy clan had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

A white square bandage was visible on the back of Kennedy's head as he emerged from the hospital just after 10 a.m. Two hours later, the senator and his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, were back at the family compound on Cape Cod, waving to a cluster of 10 to 15 reporters and photographers behind wooden police barricades. The couple walked arm-in-arm as their Portuguese water dogs, Splash and Sunny, frolicked on the lawn.

"He waived, looked well, and he seemed to be happy to be home," said Joan McAuliffe, 75, who came from her home in neighboring Centerville to welcome Kennedy back to the Cape. She told him, "Good luck, best wishes, and we hope everything turns out well."

At the Hyannis Port Yacht Club, the sail covers were being removed from Kennedy's 50-foot navy blue sloop, Mya. It is 60 degrees and sunny today on the Cape, with a southwest wind blowing 11 miles per hour.

Earlier at Mass. General, Kennedy and his wife passed through rows of cheering patients and staff members who shouted encouragement as they lined the hospital hallway. On the sidewalk, the senator was greeted by the wagging tails of Splash and Sunny. Another crowd of onlookers outside burst into applause when Kennedy stepped into the sunlight, with one woman shouting, "we love you," and another person yelling, "thank you."

The senator smiled broadly, waved, and gave a thumbs up to the more than 50 reporters, photographers, and cameramen recording the moment.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Kennedy kissed his daughter, Kara, and his niece Caroline Kennedy, and hugged his son Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island. He flashed the crowd of onlookers another thumbs up and then climbed into the front passenger seat of a dark blue Chevy Suburban. As his wife stepped into the car, she turned to the media and mouthed the words "thank you" before they drove off.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

The cheering crowd outside the hospital included Sean Butler, 42, who came with three co-workers from the Local 537 Pipefitters union to pay respects to Kennedy and, in some small way, try to thank him for his steadfast support for organized labor.

"We hope that voice isn't silenced so soon," Butler said. "I thought he looked a little thin, but under the circumstances, I thought he looked great. It's very sad."

In a statement released by the hospital, doctors said: "Senator Kennedy has recovered remarkably quickly from his Monday procedure and therefore will be released from the hospital today ahead of schedule. He will return to his home on Cape Cod while we await further test results and determine treatment plans. He's feeling well and eager to get started."

The prognosis appears uncertain for the political icon. Kennedy's diagnosis was announced three days after the 76-year-old senator was stricken Saturday in Hyannis Port. Doctors at Mass. General conducted a battery of tests, including a biopsy, and identified a cancerous mass on the top left portion of his brain as the cause of his seizure.

The news sent shockwaves across Massachusetts, which he has represented in the Senate for more than 45 years, and across Washington, where he is held in high esteem by Democrats and Republicans alike. Many of his Senate colleagues were visibly shaken, some tearing up, and they quickly expressed their hope for the best possible outcome.

"The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy," said the statement by Dr. Lee Schwamm, a neurologist, and Dr. Larry Ronan, Kennedy's primary care physician.

But the two Mass. General physicians added that decisions about the best course of treatment would be made after more tests and analysis. They described the senator as "in good overall condition . . . up and walking around the hospital . . . in good spirits and full of energy."

The prognosis is highly variable at best, ominous at worst, and it raises the possibility that the workhorse lawmaker will be unable to complete the final 4-1/2 years of his eighth full term. Still, many of his allies immediately began rallying around him, describing him as a fighter who would beat back cancer as he has defeated political foes, and pointed out that he is from a family of cancer survivors.

Despite the bad news, a Kennedy associate said that the senator shows no symptoms, remains upbeat, and has warned small groups of aides that he wants them back at work.

One associate said Kennedy is plotting his course of treatment as if he were mapping strategy to enact a piece of legislation, peppering his doctors with questions and planning to reach out to other specialists before determining a course of action.

He has given no thought to retirement, a Kennedy confidante asserted. "It's not even an option."
Kennedy's type of cancer, known as a malignant glioma, is the most common kind of brain tumor in his age group. Nationally, about 9,000 such malignancies are diagnosed each year.

Dr. Patrick Wen, clinical director for neuro-oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said that a malignant glioma, in general, is "a really serious tumor," usually Grade 3 or 4 on a scale where 4 is most severe. "The average survival for a Grade 4 tumor is 14 or 15 months," Wen said. "For a Grade 3 tumor, it's two to three years. Unfortunately, the older you are, the worse it is. . . . It's more aggressive.

If Kennedy is unable to serve, a special election to choose a successor would be held between 145 and 160 days after the seat becomes vacant, according to a state law enacted in 2004.

Kennedy, the second-longest serving member of the Senate and third-longest serving in its 219-year history, has had a series of health problems over the years. Six months ago, he underwent surgery to repair a partially blocked carotid artery in his neck. But he has continued to maintain a vigorous schedule.

The senator and his wife were given the diagnosis late Monday by his doctors. Victoria Reggie Kennedy returned to Mass. General today at 7:15 a.m. and walked briskly inside. She issued an e-mail yesterday saying that they had been thrown "a real curveball," but neither the senator's office nor any other family members issued public statements.

Once the senator's illness was announced yesterday in an e-mail to reporters, reaction was broad, swift, and solemn. Dana Perino, Bush's spokeswoman, said the president "was deeply saddened and would keep Senator Kennedy in his prayers."

Kennedy's hospitalization Saturday triggered alarm in the political world and drew an outpouring of support from around the nation. The concern abated when friends and associates said later that day that he was talking and joking with family, watching the Red Sox on television, and getting takeout from Legal Sea Foods.

But as word of the new diagnosis traveled quickly yesterday, his constituents expressed sadness upon hearing the news.

"Oh, my God," said Lisa Rappoli, 55, of Belmont. "It's a shock, just a shock."
"I just felt sorrow, but I'm praying, wishing that he has at least a good chance," said Angelo Vespa, 43, of Newton. "All that he's gone through, it's really sad."

Since being elected to the Senate in 1962 to the seat vacated by his brother, President Kennedy, Edward Kennedy has sponsored more than 2,500 bills, with nearly a quarter becoming law. He has made a career of championing the causes of the least fortunate. His ability to forge bipartisan agreement has brought sweeping changes to entire sections of federal law dealing with healthcare, mental health, the disabled, early childhood education, labor, civil and voting rights, and immigration. His first major speech on the Senate floor was in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

To Massachusetts, Kennedy has helped bring enormous sums of money for funding medical and other scientific research, infrastructure, historic preservation, and aid for the state's older cities.

A summary of Kennedy's achievements in the Senate, compiled by his staff, is 50 single-spaced pages long. "That's the trimmed-down version," an aide said recently.

Kennedy is the only one of the four brothers to live through middle age. His three brothers all died prematurely: Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., killed in 1944 on a World War II bombing mission; John F. Kennedy, assassinated in Dallas in 1963; and Robert F. Kennedy, assassinated while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Los Angeles in 1968.

Political success and personal tragedy have marked the story of one of the nation's most famous families. Three other nephews died tragically - John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash, Michael Kennedy in a skiing accident, and David Kennedy from a drug overdose. Two of Edward Kennedy's children, Edward Jr. and Kara, are cancer survivors.

Kennedy has suffered through his own misfortune and failure. In 1964, he suffered a broken back in a small plane crash in Western Massachusetts that resulted in the death of the pilot and one of Kennedy's aides. In 1969, Mary Jo Kopechne drowned when a car driven by Kennedy went off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, and Kennedy left the scene.

In the late 1980s, he abandoned any ambition to the presidency when he announced he would run for reelection to the Senate. "I know that this decision means that I may never be president," he declared. "But the pursuit of the presidency is not my life. Public service is."

Carey Goldberg and David Abel of the Globe staff and Globe correspondents Matthew Collette and Vincent DeWitt contributed to this report.

Posted by aryan at 1:31 PM | Comments (0)

Fourteen years later, an arrest in Lowell murder case

By Globe Staff

Fourteen years after a 21-year-old man was shot dead in Lowell, police have arrested the alleged killer in California, prosecutors said today.

Thirty-five-year-old Shawn Lessieur of Lowell was arrested in Alameda, Calif. on a warrant for murder. He is accused of firing the shots that killed 21-year-old Mark Jones of Lowell on March 18, 1994.

"This office does not and will not forget the victims of unsolved homicides," Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a statement.

A second man, Nolyn Surprenant, 30, of Methuen is being held without bail pending his trial on murder charges in the case. Police allege that he participated in the murder by driving Lessieur to and from the slaying with the knowledge that Lessieur planned to kill Jones.

Authorities were unable to make an arrest after several months of investigation into the 1994 slaying. But in May 2006, they arrested Surprenant.

Lowell and State Police continued to investigate, obtaining an arrest warrant earlier this month for Lessieur. He was arrested Friday.

Posted by mfinucane at 1:23 PM | Comments (0)

High court: Automobile shouldn't be included when calculating official's pension

By Globe Staff

The state's highest court ruled today that a public employee, when calculating his pay for pension purposes, can't include the value of his personal use of a city car as part of his pay.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a case brought by Kenneth C. Pelonzi, former fire chief and public safety commissioner in Beverly.

Pelonzi was provided with a city car for official use. He was also allowed to use it for his own personal business because he was always on-call in case of an emergency.

Public employee pension payments in Massachusetts are basically calculated by a combination of three factors: the retiree's age, years of service, and highest average pay for three consecutive years.

Pelonzi argued that the value of his personal use of the car should be included when calculating his pay, which would have increased his monthly benefits by $327. Pelonzi won his case in Superior Court.

But the Supreme Judicial Court today overturned the lower court ruling, saying the car was not "regular compensation" for Pelonzi's services.

It said there was "nothing in the entire statutory scheme that would indicate a legislative intent to include an employer-supplied automobile that is required by the fundamental nature of an employee's job."

Posted by mfinucane at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)

House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi's statement on casino referendum

“I am deeply concerned that the Senate might add casino gambling as an amendment to the state budget. The budget is the most important bill we debate each year and is far too significant to be bogged down in these kinds of major, controversial public policy debates.

"I remain opposed to casino gambling but, given the magnitude of what the Senate is considering, I would support as a compromise Senator Panagiotakos’ proposal to put an advisory question on casinos before voters this fall.

"The House made its views on casinos clear in May. But rather than have our budget negotiations stall over a potential casino impasse, I suggest we put this before the voters in a non-binding referendum question and reconsider it next year.”

Posted by aryan at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)

May 20, 2008

Sen. Edward Kennedy diagnosed with brain tumor; prognosis seen as uncertain

By Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff

US Senator Edward M. Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, his doctors said Tuesday, and the prognosis appears uncertain at best for the last surviving brother of the famed Kennedy clan, who has been an enormous force in American politics for nearly half a century.

The announcement was made three days after Kennedy, 76, was stricken at the family’s Hyannis Port compound. Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital conducted a battery of tests, including a biopsy, and identified a cancerous mass on the top left portion of his brain as the cause of his seizure.

The news sent shockwaves across Massachusetts, which he has represented in the Senate for more than 45 years, and across Washington, where he is held in high esteem by Democrats and Republicans alike. Many of his Senate colleagues were visibly shaken, some tearing up, and they quickly expressed their hope for the best possible outcome.

‘‘The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy,’’ said a statement by Dr. Lee Schwamm, a neurologist, and Dr. Larry Ronan, Kennedy’s primary care physician.

But the two Mass. General physicians added that decisions about the best course of treatment would be made after more tests and analysis. They described the senator as ‘‘in good overall condition ... up and walking around the hospital ... in good spirits and full of energy.’’

While his doctors said he will remain at Mass. General ‘‘for the next couple of days,’’ Kennedy associates said they expected him to push for his discharge as early as Wednesday.

The prognosis is highly variable at best, ominous at worst, and it raises the possibility that the workhorse lawmaker will be unable to complete the final years of his eighth full term.

Despite the bad news, a Kennedy associate said that the senator shows no symptoms, remains upbeat, and has warned small groups of aides that he wants them back at work.

The associate, who requested anonymity, said Kennedy is plotting his course of treatment as if he were mapping strategy to enact a major piece of legislation, peppering his doctors with questions and planning to reach out to other specialists before determining a course of action.

He has given no thought to retirement, a Kennedy confidant asserted. ‘‘It’s not even an option.’’

Kennedy’s type of cancer, known as a malignant glioma, is the most common kind of brain tumor in his age group. About 9,000 such malignancies are diagnosed each year in the United States.

Dr. Patrick Wen, clinical director for neuro-oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, called a malignant glioma, in general, ‘‘a really serious tumor,’’ usually Grade 3 or 4 on a scale where 4 is most severe.

‘‘The average survival for a Grade 4 tumor is 14 or 15 months,’’ Wen said. ‘‘For a Grade 3 tumor, it’s two to three years. Unfortunately, the older you are, the worse it is. The biology of the tumor is worse, it’s more aggressive."

If Kennedy is unable to serve, a special election to choose a successor would be held between 145 and 160 days after the seat becomes vacant, according to a state law enacted in 2004.

Kennedy, the second-longest serving member of the Senate and third-longest serving in its 219-year history, has had a series of health problems over the years. Six months ago he underwent surgery to repair a partially blocked carotid artery in his neck. But he has continued to maintain a vigorous schedule.

The senator and his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, were given the diagnosis late Monday by his doctors.

His wife arrived yesterday at Mass. General at 6:20 a.m., stepping out of a black sport utility vehicle and walking briskly inside. His sons, Edward M. Kennedy Jr. and US Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, arrived at 9:45 a.m. Kara Kennedy, his daughter, also spent yesterday at the hospital, as did Kennedy’s two stepchildren, Curran and Caroline Raclin.

None of the Kennedys talked to the reporters standing watch outside. Neither the family nor Kennedy’s office issued public statements, but late in the day they allowed photographers from the Globe and Associated Press to shoot pictures of Kennedy and members of his family.

Once the announcement was made, in the form of an e-mail to reporters, reaction was broad, swift, and solemn. Dana Perino, Bush’s spokeswoman, said the president ‘‘was deeply saddened and would keep Senator Kennedy in his prayers.’’

Kennedy’s hospitalization Saturday triggered alarm in the political world and drew an outpouring of support from around the nation. The concern abated when friends and associates said later that day that he was talking and joking with family, watching the Red Sox on television, and getting takeout from Legal Sea Foods.

But as word of the new diagnosis traveled quickly yesterday, his constituents expressed sadness upon hearing the news.

‘‘Oh, my God,’’ said Lisa Rappoli, 55, of Belmont. ‘‘It’s a shock, just a shock.’’

‘‘I just felt sorrow, but I’m praying, wishing that he has at least a good chance,’’ said Angelo
Vespa, 43, of Newton. ‘‘All that he’s gone through, it’s really said.’’

Since being elected to the Senate in 1962 to the seat vacated by his brother, President Kennedy, Edward Kennedy has sponsored more than 2,500 bills, with nearly a quarter becoming law. He has made a career of championing the causes of the least fortunate in American society. His ability to forge bipartisan agreement has brought sweeping changes to entire sections of federal law dealing with healthcare, mental health, the disabled, early childhood education, labor, civil and voting rights, and immigration. His first major speech on the Senate floor was in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

To Massachusetts, Kennedy has helped bring enormous sums of money for funding medical and other scientific research, infrastructure, historic preservation, and aid for the state’s older cities.

A summary of Kennedy’s achievements in the Senate, compiled by his staff, is 50 single-spaced pages long. ‘‘That’s the trimmed-down version,’’ an aide said recently.

During President Bush’s administration, Kennedy was an early and consistent critic of the Iraq war, but also an important ally who helped Bush win passage of No Child Left Behind, the education law that was a signature achievement early in Bush’s first term.

Kennedy is the only one of the four brothers to live through middle age. His three brothers all died prematurely: Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., killed in 1944 on a World War II bombing mission; John F. Kennedy, assassinated in Dallas in 1963; and Robert F. Kennedy, assassinated while campaigning in Los Angeles in 1968.

Political success and personal tragedy have marked the epic story of one of the nation’s most famous families. Edward Kennedy’s son, Patrick, and nephew Joseph P. Kennedy II became congressmen, and a niece, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, served as lieutenant governor of Maryland.

Three other nephews died tragically — John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash, Michael Kennedy in a skiing accident, and David Kennedy from a drug overdose. Two of Edward Kennedy’s children, Edward Jr. and Kara, are cancer survivors.

Kennedy has suffered through his own misfortune and failure. In 1964, he suffered a broken back in a small plane crash in Western Massachusetts that resulted in the death of the pilot and one of Kennedy’s aides. In 1969, Mary Jo Kopechne drowned when a car driven by Kennedy went off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, and Kennedy left the scene. His marriage to his first wife, Joan, ended in divorce in 1982, and as the third Kennedy brother to seek the presidency, he lost a 1980 challenge to Jimmy Carter, the incumbent from his own party.

Seven years later, he abandoned any ambition to the presidency when he announced he would run for reelection to the Senate.

‘‘I know that this decision means that I may never be president,’’ he declared. ‘‘But the pursuit of the presidency is not my life. Public service is.’’

Carey Goldberg and David Abel of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Matthew Collette contributed to this report.

Posted by dastewart at 9:37 PM | Comments (0)

'The Cheese Man' to be freed on bail

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Reputed New England Mafia underboss Carmen "The Cheese Man'' DiNunzio has been ordered released on $20,000 cash bail by a federal magistrate who rejected the government's claim that he is dangerous and should remain jailed until his trial on a bribery charge.

"I just got word to his family and they are obviously happy,'' said DiNunzio's lawyer, Anthony Cardinale, adding that his client is likely to be set free Wednesday following a 2 p.m. hearing at the federal courthouse.

"I think it was the fair ruling,'' said Cardinale, who had argued that DiNunzio, who weighs over 400 pounds and suffers from diabetes, coronary artery disease, and sleep apnea, is not dangerous.

DiNunzio, 50, owner of a cheese shop in Boston's North End, has been jailed since his May 2 arrest on a one-count federal indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery. He and two associates are accused of paying a $10,000 bribe in September 2006 to an undercover FBI agent posing as a corrupt Massachusetts highway inspector, in a bid to secure a $6 million contract to provide 300,000 cubic yards of loam, a soil mix, to the Big Dig.

In a 20-page ruling Tuesday, US Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein said the evidence against DiNunzio appears strong, but the crime as charged did not involve "violence or threats of violence.''

Though she accepted the government's contention that DiNunzio became second-in-command of the New England mob in 2004, Dein said there was no evidence that DiNunzio threatened or tried to harm the undercover agent even after the loam deal fell through and the agent kept the $10,000.

She also noted that the alleged bribery scheme ended in December 2006, and the government left DiNunzio on the street for 17 months before arresting him.

Prosecutors argued that DiNunzio was a danger and played an FBI tape in court of him saying he wanted to throw an associate off a roof if he backed out of the loam deal.

But Dein said DiNunzio's comments "seem to be expressions of annoyance rather than actual threats'' and noted that he never followed through on them.

She set a number of restrictions for DiNunzio, who must continue to live in the East Boston home he shares with his mother and sister; wear an electronic bracelet; only leave home for court, lawyer, or doctors' visits; submit to random searches of his home by the FBI; and avoid contact with any witnesses or his codefendants.

However, DiNunzio won't be allowed to work in his Endicott Street cheese shop while on bail. An FBI agent testified during DiNunzio's bail hearing last week that known members of La Cosa Nostra, more commonly known as the Mafia, had been observed frequenting DiNunzio's shop.

"Such unrestricted access to other members of LCN is inappropriate at this time,'' wrote Dein, adding that letting DiNunzio resume work at his shop would make it "too risky'' that he would engage in unlawful activities.

The magistrate also ordered the release of DiNunzio's codefendant, Anthony D'Amore, 55, of Revere, on $20,000 cash bail and set similar restrictions. The third man charged in the case, trucking company owner Andrew Marino, 42, of Chelmsford, was released on personal recognizance the day of his arrest.

Posted by mfinucane at 9:30 PM | Comments (0)

Analysis: Surprise in this stealth Kennedy threat

By Peter S. Canellos, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- News about the Kennedys has so often come in shocking bursts, such as plane crashes and gunfire, that today's revelation that the senior senator from Massachusetts is suffering from a deadly illness had a quiet poignancy all its own.

Days when Democrats worried that an assassin might try to remove the last Kennedy brother have long since receded, and Ted Kennedy carries a new image as the Senate's indefatigable warrior. So it was a surprise that something as ordinary as cancer would be what slows down Kennedy's relentless drive to promote liberal causes, build coalitions, and pass legislation.

And yet, as many grimly noted, Kennedy is 76 and brain cancer is often deadly. So there was profound sadness throughout the Capitol. Democratic senators gathering for their weekly policy lunch said a prayer. Republicans at their weekly lunch described a deep feeling of sorrow.

Many spoke of how Kennedy's 46-year career has helped define the Senate.

"His life diverged from his brothers and he's become a kind of stalwart -- a symbol of a type of liberalism that really dates back to FDR," said University of New Hampshire historian Ellen Fitzpatrick, describing Kennedy's philosophy as "a vigorous commitment to use the levers of government to help people."

But, as Fitzpatrick noted, Kennedy's importance to national politics is far more than symbolic, and his illness comes at a moment when his centrality to the legislative process has never been more apparent.

Kennedy long ago mastered the trick of remaining effective in the Senate even when his party was in the minority -- allowing him to advance such issues as arms control, opposition to South African apartheid, and increased funding of education programs even at times when his fellow Democrats were at their lowest ebb.

And yet the Democrats' return to the majority in both houses of Congress last January gave a special boost to Kennedy, who immediately passed his top priority -- an increase in the minimum wage. He also worked with President Bush and Senator John McCain to craft an immigration bill that combined punishment with a guest-worker program and path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

That bill ran into a solid bloc of conservative opposition in the Senate, as did another of Kennedy's key initiatives -- a major expansion of aid for children's health. But his agenda only expanded as he performed the hard work of recruiting Republican co-sponsors to help advance his priorities.

"He just has such skill in bringing disparate elements of the Senate together on important public-policy questions," said William Carrick, a California political consultant who worked for Kennedy in the 1980s. "He is unique in that regard. He has incredible skill and charm."

In recent months, Kennedy has been especially energetic, maintaining a busy speaking schedule while jetting home every week to Massachusetts. In addition, he hit the presidential campaign trail with vigor, including a week-long blitz before Super Tuesday that many believe helped Kennedy's candidate, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, hold the favored Hillary Clinton to a draw on the day when 24 states went to the polls.

From there, Obama went on to win 11 straight contests and take a lead in elected delegates that he has not relinquished.

"When we get some distance from the campaign and look back on it, Senator Kennedy's endorsement made a lot of people more comfortable voting for Obama," said Carrick. "Kennedy gave tremendous validation to Obama's campaign at a critical time."

Implicit in the endorsement, of course, was the idea that Kennedy would provide legislative guidance -- and muscle -- to an Obama Administration, should one materialize.

An Obama presidency would provide yet another opportunity for Kennedy to advance his lifelong goal of national health insurance. There have been many junctures at which Kennedy has pushed ahead with plans for a single-payer style system, only to be thwarted. Lately, however, he's embraced the idea that progress on health care can be made incrementally, with less disruption to the current system.

Kennedy's ability to maintain a sense of idealism in setting goals, and realism in achieving them, would be crucial to Obama, should he become president, according to Carrick, Fitzpatrick, and many others.

Now, as he is undergoing further tests in Massachusetts General Hospital -- an institution he has done much to fund over the years -- and prepares to battle a disease for which he has done more than any other legislator to fight, Kennedy and his legacy are on the minds of one and all in Washington.

"I think you can argue that I would not be sitting here as a presidential candidate had it not been for some of the battles that Ted Kennedy has fought," said Obama, appearing on CNN. "So not only is he a personal friend, not only has been one of my most important supporters during the course of this campaign. But he is somebody who battled for voting rights and civil rights when I was a child.

"I stand on his shoulders."

Posted by rgreene at 7:20 PM | Comments (0)

Police investigate woman's death in Mission Hill

By Maria Cramer and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

More than 20 police officers, including Commissioner Edward F. Davis, descended on a red-brick apartment complex in Mission Hill today after a woman in her 20s was found dead, police said.

It appears that the woman was shot to death, police said.

At least one neighbor heard what sounded like shots at around midnight but did not alert authorities, police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said.

A building manager found the woman's body just before 7 a.m. and called 911, said Deputy Superintendent Thomas Lee, who runs the police's criminal investigation division. The crime scene was in the apartment, Lee said.

Police used a gun-sniffing dog to search near parked cars. A line of officers searched the parking lot and a grassy hill near the Parker Hill Apartments, which includes two four-story buildings with a sweeping view of downtown.

The entire apartment complex was cordoned off by police. A blue Mini Cooper with a Northeastern University 2007 parking sticker was towed from the scene. It was not clear whether the car was connected to the victim, but yellow police tape had been strung around the car before it was taken away.

Investigators working to confirm the identity of the victim are trying to determine whether she was a student at Northeastern University, Lee said.

The Parker Hill Apartments are home to a mix of families and students from nearby colleges, said City Councilor Michael Ross, who lives not far from the complex.

"There isn't any sort of rampaging violence whatsoever in Mission Hill," Ross said. "It's an extremely safe neighborhood."

Reza Basthar moved into the apartment complex two weeks ago and said he was asked this morning by police whether he saw or heard anything. He said he did not hear anything unusual.

"I'm a little bit scared right now," Basthar said as he walked to work at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Posted by aryan at 6:00 PM | Comments (0)

At the Kennedy library, tears and sympathy for Ted

(Michele McDonald/Globe Staff)

Mel Wasserman was moved by news of Senator Kennedy's diagnosis.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Mel Wasserman couldn't hold back tears when -- upon leaving the John F. Kennedy Library -- he learned that Senator Edward M. Kennedy had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

"It's the end of an era," said Wasserman of Plainview, N.Y., who explained he has always felt the Kennedy family history intertwined with his own. Just three weeks after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, his father died.

"I've always equated the two -- they were the biggest things that had ever happened to me," he said.

Then, five years later, Wasserman's mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

"I remember in 1968 it took about three weeks to diagnose my mother," he said. "Just hearing this brings it all even closer together."

Most visitors leaving the Kennedy Library knew that Senator Kennedy had been hospitalized, but most weren't yet aware of his diagnosis.

Barbara Archer, a California resident visiting Boston to see her granddaughter graduate from Boston College, said she was "shocked" to hear the latest update on Senator Kennedy's medical condition.

"On the news, we heard he was going to be okay," said Archer, who turned 77 -- a year older than Kennedy -- today.

Carolyn Dwyer, visiting from Hershey, Penn., was waiting for a shuttle bus outside the library when she heard the news. She said she sympathized with the Kennedy family.

"My thoughts are with them," she said. "We're wishing him a full recovery. My father died of a brain tumor when I was younger. I know it's an ordeal to go through."

A group of senior citizens from Waltham visiting the library were getting ready to board their bus back home when they heard the news.

"It's just devastating," said Janet Healey. "He's done an awful lot for the citizens of Massachusetts. He hasn't lived an easy life; it'd be a shame if God took him now."

Posted by mfinucane at 4:51 PM | Comments (0)

Reaction to Senator Edward M. Kennedy's malignant brain tumor

President George Bush

President George Bush

"Laura and I are concerned to learn of our friend Senator Kennedy's diagnosis. Ted Kennedy is a man of tremendous courage, remarkable strength, and powerful spirit. Our thoughts are with Senator Kennedy and his family during this difficult period. We join our fellow Americans in praying for his full recovery."

Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut

Senator Christopher Dodd

"He's a strong guy and has great heart. We're confident he is going to be back. So we wish he and Vicki and the family well."

Representative Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts

“Ted Kennedy is the greatest Senator in American history and a tireless fighter for America’s families. I know that he will take on this latest challenge with the same fighting spirit, strength and courage he has always shown. My thoughts and prayers are with him, his wife, Vicki, and his family. I look forward to seeing him fully recover and working with him for many, many more years to come.”

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada

"The Senate really is a family. We, as a family, are tremendously concerned about Senator Kennedy."

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts

Senator John F. Kerry

"Every one of us knows what a big heart this fellow has," Kerry said, calling his colleague a "living legend." "This guy is one unbelievable fighter ... He's in a fighting mood."

Senator Hillary Clinton of New York

“Ted Kennedy’s courage and resolve are unmatched, and they have made him one of the greatest legislators in Senate history. Our thoughts are with him and Vicki and we are praying for a quick and full recovery.”

Senator John McCain

"Obviously, our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to him. We hope and pray that they will be able to treat it and that he will experience a full recovery. I have said on numerous occasions, I have described Ted Kennedy as the last lion in the Senate, and I have held that view because he remains the single most effective member of the Senate if you want to get results."

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois

"Ted Kennedy is a fighter. We want to make sure he's fighting this illness. ... He's not only a great senator, he's a great friend."

Obama said on CNN he would not be running for president if not for voting rights and civil rights battles won by Kennedy. "I stand on his shoulders," Obama said.

Howard Dean, Democratic National Committee chairman and former Vermont governor

"Senator Kennedy is a true American hero and a leader in the Democratic Party, having spent a lifetime standing up for the values of fairness, justice and equality. On behalf of the Democratic Party, we extend our prayers and well wishes to Senator Kennedy, his wife, Vicki, and the entire Kennedy family."

Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston

Mayor Thomas M. Menino

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Senator Kennedy and his family. I have faith that my friend will come through this with the same courage he has demonstrated throughout his life. For decades the people of Boston, this nation, and countries around the world have benefited from the Senator’s energy, compassion, and commitment to those most in need. We have looked to our senior Senator in the most challenging times and we will continue to fight with him on issues necessary in moving this country forward. On behalf of myself, my family, and the City of Boston, our thoughts are with him and we hope people would respect the privacy of the family during this difficult time."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

"Senator Kennedy is a champion for health care for all Americans and a great fighter for America's children, workers and seniors. This same strength and fighting spirit will serve him well in this challenge."

State Senate President Therese Murray

"The Massachusetts Senate stands with Senator Kennedy during this difficult time in his life. He is still our senator, and any talk about a successor is insensitive, outrageous and wrong. Senator Kennedy is a living political legend who for so many years has been a relentless advocate for the Commonwealth and our nation. He has been a fighter his entire life, and he will face this unfortunate development with his usual grit and determination. Our heartfelt prayers and encouragement go out to Senator Kennedy and his family."

Senator John Warner

"I am so deeply saddened I have lost the words."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland

"Senator Kennedy is a giant in the Senate, a wonderful public servant and a great American. ... Ted Kennedy has faced many challenges during his life, and I know he will meet this one with determination and strength, and I hope to see him back in Congress soon."

Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvanian

"Senator Kennedy is a real fighter. We all know that. I'm betting on Senator Kennedy."

Representative William Delahunt of Massachusetts

Representative William Delahunt

"This is obviously a challenge. However, he's overcome more than his share of challenges. I think everyone is optimistic. It's another challenge, but he's gonna have a full life."

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont

"I'm having a hard time remembering a day in my 34 years here I've felt this sadly."

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia

Senator Robert Byrd

"My dear, dear friend, dear friend, Ted Kennedy. ... Keep Ted here for us and for America. ... Ted, Ted, Ted. My dear friend. I love you and miss you."

Governor Deval Patrick

"I know I speak for people all over the Commonwealth, indeed all over the country, wishing him well and sending him the very best and strongest prayers. You don’t have time and enough tape for all the different ways in which Ted Kennedy has, and continues to be, important to Massachusetts. ... He has an extraordinary record, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with him.''

Mitt Romney, former governor

“I don’t think you can think of Massachusetts politics without Ted Kennedy at the top of the heap. And I hope we don’t have to for some time to come.”

Representative Barney Frank

"It’s been a roller coaster. We got bad news on Saturday, it was looking good Sunday. This today is a double punch.”

Posted by aryan at 3:10 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. General statement on Kennedy's brain tumor

Statement from Dr. Lee Schwamm, Vice Chairman, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Larry Ronan, Primary Care Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital:

"Over the course of the last several days, we've done a series of tests on Senator Kennedy to determine the cause of his seizure. He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition, and is up and walking around the hospital. Some of the tests we had performed were inconclusive, particularly in light of the fact that the Senator had severe narrowing of the left carotid artery and underwent surgery just 6 months ago. However, preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe. The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy. Decisions regarding the best course of treatment for Senator Kennedy will be determined after further testing and analysis. Senator Kennedy will remain at Massachusetts General Hospital for the next couple of days according to routine protocol. He remains in good spirits and full of energy."

Posted by kweintraub at 1:19 PM | Comments (0)

Victim's mother testifies in Dorchester quadruple slaying

By Globe Staff

The mother of one of the four young men shot to death in December 2005 in a Dorchester house testified today at the trial of the man accused in the slaying, saying that she heard a gunshot and discovered the carnage when she went down to the basement.

Calvin Carnes Jr., 21, of Dorchester has been charged with the murders of Edwin Duncan, 21; Jason Bachiller, 20; Jihad Chankhour, 22; and Christopher Viera, 19.

Darnella Phillips, Duncan's mother, testified today in the second day of the trial, Suffolk County prosecutors said. The slayings occurred in the basement of her house.

The trial is expected to last six weeks.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:38 PM | Comments (0)

Inspections ordered for carnival rides involved in Calif. accident

(File photo)

A file photo of a Yo-Yo ride.

By Globe Staff

With warmer weather arriving, it's that time of year again: time for the traveling carnival, with its bright lights and kid-thrilling rides, to set up in town. But state public safety officials say one of the attractions may be unsafe.

Inspections have been ordered for all Yo-Yo amusement rides after one of the rides failed this weekend in California, injuring two dozen people.

"My first priority is for the safety of patrons on these rides. The regulations require that owners comply with all safety bulletins issued by the manufacturer, and I have taken this action to ensure that his has been done, and that these devices are safe to operate," Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Gatzunis said in a statement.

The devices won't be allowed to operate until a state inspector has performed a complete inspection on all components of the devices.

The Department of Public Safety said that there are four Yo-Yo rides licensed in the state to traveling carnivals. The rides are made by Chance Rides Manufacturing Inc. of Wichita, Kan.

Department spokesman Terrel Harris said that a carnival scheduled to arrive in Milford this weekend will not be able to open its Yo-Yo ride unless it's inspected.

A spokesman for Chance Rides said the company didn't object to the state's action.

"We don't mind. We encourage compliance with our safety bulletins. This is a great way to throw out a safety net and make sure everybody's up to date," said Jeff Roth, vice president of administration at Chance Rides.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)

Financial tips for college grads: Watch the credit cards, get health insurance

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Diplomas in hand, college graduates are heading off into the “real world," where a daunting economy and sluggish job market await. Smith College economics professor Randall K. Bartlett, who teaches in the college's Women and Financial Independence program, said recent graduates need to make a concerted effort to manage their finances well as they enter post-college life.

Randall K. Bartlett

Bad decisions now could haunt the graduates for years to come.

"Money comes in hard and goes out easy," Bartlett said. "How you plan your finances now can have huge ramifications on how your life will play out."

To help grads along their way, Bartlett recently provided a few thoughts on the economic climate and some tips on getting a financial life:

-- Explore ways to consolidate student loans and tailor payments to income. Most important, avoid running up credit card debt. With credit card interest rates typically hovering between 16 percent and 20 percent, even relatively small balances can lead to large interest charges over time.

-- With an unemployment rate of just over 5 percent, most graduates should be able to find a job, although it might not be their dream job. Students should cast a wide net, apply for a range of positions, and keep an open mind about relocating.

-- You’ll need health insurance, despite its high cost. Plans are available with high deductibles that only cover catastrophes and may be attractive to young graduates.

"Don't go without some kind of health care," Bartlett said. "It's a very high risk. With today’s prices, one unfortunate accident or malady can turn into years or decades of medical debt."

-- Don't lose touch with your college roommates. If you were comfortable living with them before, it may be financially beneficial to do so again.

"For most recent graduates, the way to make housing in the most expensive cities possible is to recognize that you will need to find others to share the cost," he said.

-- Starting a long-term investment program – however modest -- at a young age can pay massive dividends.

"If students invest even a tiny amount regularly and let it build for 30 or 40 years, the payoff by the time they’re at retirement age will be astronomical."

Posted by rgreene at 12:03 PM | Comments (0)

New law proposed for crackdown on sex offenders, online predators

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Attorney General Martha Coakley unveiled legislation this morning that is designed to allow prosecutors to more easily pursue sex offenders and online predators.

The legislation, which the House will take up within weeks, provides a series of minimum mandatory sentences for child predators and gives prosecutors new tools for going after them.

“This bill sends a strong message that we are serious about better protecting the children of Massachusetts,” said DiMasi, who was joined by Coakley and a crew of district attorneys.

Yet the legislation stops short of the 25-year mandatory sentences that exist under Jessica’s Law, a bill approved three years ago in Florida that has become the model for 33 other states.

Representative Eugene O’Flaherty, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said, “This legislation will give prosecutors the tools they need to punish sex offenders.”

O’Flaherty was confronted outside his home in March by a producer for Fox News’ "Bill O’Reilly" show, questioning why the state was not enacting Jessica’s Law.

The Massachusetts bill creates three new criminal charges -- aggravated forcible child rape, aggravated statutory child rape, and aggravated assault and battery on a child. It carries mandatory minimum sentences that range from 10 to 20 years in prison.

The bill also will allow prosecutors to more easily obtain subpoenas to Internet service providers to get subscriber information they can use to track online predators.

Posted by aryan at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)

Route 128 briefly closed after SUV rollover

By Globe Staff

A sport utility vehicle rolled over this morning on Route 128 in Wenham, briefly closing the road in both directions while a medical helicopter landed, State Police said.

The driver of the 2002 Ford Explorer was flown to Boston Medical Center with what State Police described as non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash at 6:30 a.m. just north of Grapevine Road caused significant traffic problems in Wenham, which is north of Boston, near Beverly. Police cleared the scene by 7:30 a.m.

Posted by aryan at 8:26 AM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2008

McCullough urges BC grads to treasure learning

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

In a heartfelt ode to the power and joys of education, acclaimed historian David McCullough exhorted Boston College graduates this morning to "make the love of learning central to your life."

In his keynote address at the college's commencement on its Chestnut Hill campus, the award-winning historian extolled the "transforming miracle of education" and warned more than 3,300 graduates not to confuse plain facts with deeper truths.

"Information has value, sometimes great value," he said. "But information, let us be clear, isn't learning. Information isn't poetry, or art, or Gershwin or the Shaw Memorial. Or faith. It isn't wisdom. Facts alone are never enough. ... One can have all the facts and miss the truth."

If information were learning, McCullough jested, students could memorize the World Almanac and consider themselves educated.

"If you memorized the World Almanac, you wouldn't be educated, you'd be weird!" he exclaimed.

McCullough, whose critically acclaimed history "John Adams" was the basis for an HBO series on the nation's second president, received an honorary degree and said he was "profoundly honored by so high a tribute."

The winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for his best-selling historical volumes, McCullough has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award.

Thousands of friends and family members filled the stands of Alumni Stadium on a windy, brisk morning for the two-hour ceremony, the college's 132d commencement.

McCullough cited Adams and Charles Sumner, a Civil War-era Massachusetts senator, as shining examples of how education can change world views.

"We are what we read, to a very considerable degree," he said.

With dismay, McCullough cited a survey that found that one-third of college-educated Americans had not read a single novel in the past year, and called on graduates to "read, read, read!"

"Read the classics of American literature that you've never opened. Read your country's history. ... Read about the great turning points in the history of science and medicine and ideas."

He also pleaded with students to rid the vernacular of a "verbal virus" that afflicts today's generation, the rampant contemporary use of "like," "you know," "awesome," and "actually."

"Just imagine if in his inaugural address John F. Kennedy had said, "Ask not what your country can, you know, do for you, but what you can, like, do for your country, actually."

McCullough concluded by advising students to find work they believe in, walk with their heads up, travel, and always remember to tip the maid.

In welcoming remarks, Father William P. Leahy, the college's president, said he hoped graduates would remain curious and open to new ideas.

"If we are not people who wonder, if we never entertain what is new or different, we can easily become rigid and closed-minded, never leaving our familiar world with its neat categories," he said. "When that happens, the wounds of society and the suffering of others will seldom enter our consciousness, and we will feel little urgency to question existing structures and viewpoints."

Posted by rgreene at 4:49 PM | Comments (0)

Police investigate alleged attempted kidnapping

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

Boston police are investigating a reported attempted kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy as he walked to school this morning in Dorchester.

About 8:15 a.m., an unknown man approached the boy from a vacant lot on Gallivan Boulevard, about four blocks from St. Brendan School, where the boy is enrolled. The man said “Hey,” and grabbed the boy’s right arm and started pulling him into the vacant lot, police said.

The boy broke free and ran through numerous yards and streets. The suspect pursued him for a while, following the boy onto Marsh Street before fleeing in an unknown direction.

Once arriving at school, the boy told the principal what had happened; and police were called.

“He’s going to be ok,” said Elaine Driscoll, a Boston police spokeswoman. “He had some scratches on his arm. … This young man did the right thing by heading to school and alerting an adult immediately.”

Driscoll said there have been no recent reports of attempted kidnappings in the area, but she said police have stepped up patrols and are canvassing the area for suspects.

Police described the suspect as a white male in his mid-40s or 50s, weighing 200 pounds and five feet 10 inches tall. He was wearing a black waist-length leather jacket with red sleeves, blue jeans with faded, white spots near the thighs of both legs, a black baseball cap with black sunglasses, and gray New Balance sneakers. He also had scruffy salt-and-pepper facial hair.

Anyone with information can call Boston police detectives at 617-343-4335, or leave anonymous information at 800-494-TIPS or text the word TIP to CRIME.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 4:46 PM | Comments (0)

I-93 ramp closed in Medford; Danvers ramp reopens on Route 1

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A ramp onto Interstate 93 in Medford has been closed this afternoon for emergency repairs, according to the State Police.

The ramp from Mystic Avenue onto I-93 was closed at 2:10 p.m. while the state highway department inspected and repaired what was described by State Police as a "protruding bridge joint." Additional information was not available.

In Danvers, a ramp off northbound Route 1 has reopened after being closed when a modular home fell off the back of a tractor-trailer, State Police said.

The ramp to Route 62 west was closed for roughly an hour after the accident at 2:45 p.m. The home slid off the truck, but landed on the grass so it was not significantly damaged, police said.

Posted by aryan at 3:43 PM | Comments (0)

Power restored in Ipswich after fire

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Electricity has been restored to all of Ipswich after a fire at a substation this morning knocked out power for the entire town and caused the cancellation of school.

Service was restored by 12:30 p.m., almost six hours after the blaze started at the High Street substation, which houses a major power transformer. Ipswich Fire Chief Art Howe said he was a half mile away at his home at 6:45 a.m. and heard a blast when the fire started.

The blaze was contained to one fenced-in area of the substation and took about an hour and a half to extinguish, Howe said. No one was injured.

Without electricity, classes were canceled at Ipswich's elementary schools. Middle and high school students were already en route to school. The older students were dismissed at 11 a.m.

"I had no way to feed 1,200 kids and we didn’t have enough bread to make sandwiches," said Superintendent Rick Korb.

Posted by aryan at 3:02 PM | Comments (0)

Boston Public Library trustees elect acting president

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Trustees of the Boston Public Library have elevated deputy director Ruth Kowal to serve as acting president.

Kowal will take the helm of the 28-library system for Bernard Margolis, who was forced out in November when his contract was not renewed by the trustee board. Margolis's term ends on July 1.

Kowal previously led the Eastern Massachusetts and Central Massachusetts Regional Library Systems. She has worked for the Boston Public Library since 1990, previously serving as director of operations.

Margolis and Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who appoints the trustee board, have clashed during Margolis's 11-year tenure. The mayor has said he wants a library director who would put more focus on the system's branch libraries. Trustees said the search for a new president is ongoing.

Posted by aryan at 1:46 PM | Comments (0)

State to take closer look at tolls on I-93

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/file 2006)

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick's top transportation official signaled today that he wants to take a closer look at adding tolls on Interstate 93, but stopped well short of endorsing that method for raising more money for the state.

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority will count the number of vehicles on the Zakim Bridge and at other major points on I-93 at the request of Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen. The data will help determine whether tolls are a viable option.

Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen

"Everything is on the table here and we need to look in all corners," Cohen said today at the board’s monthly meeting. "Whether we will find the money in all corners, I don't know. But we need to look in all corners."

Cohen, who also chairs the turnpike board, made the comments during a discussion about possible changes in the state’s tolling system. There are currently tolls on the east-west Massachusetts Turnpike, Tobin Bridge, and tunnels beneath Boston Harbor, but not on I-93, the main north-south thoroughfare.

When asked after the meeting whether the traffic count was a signal he was ready to consider tolls on I-93, Cohen said, "It just means that I want to have as complete a picture as possible."

A Toll Equity Working Group convened by the turnpike board reported it has reached no conclusions about how to equalize payments for drivers, but it presented a roster of 37 options. A final analysis is due in July. The board will spend the summer evaluating a broad list of possible changes.

"If you look at the matrix, there are 37 possible tolling options," said Cohen, who stressed that he is not moving in the direction of tolling on I-93. "As far as I'm concerned, they're all on an even playing field."

Given federal regulations and local concerns about bottlenecks, it is unlikely that any new tolls booths will be installed on I-93. There is the potential, however, for some type of electronic tolling. Possible locations include the Zakim Bridge and the south end of the Tip O'Neill Tunnel.

Adding tolls to I-93 has been discussed for years, but it is usually avoided by politicians who fear the wrath of the driving public. The addition of any form of tolling along I-93 would require federal approval.

Posted by aryan at 1:26 PM | Comments (0)

Media vigil continues at Mass. General for Senator Kennedy

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Victoria Reggie Kennedy walked into Massachusetts General Hospital today to be by the side of her husband, Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

By George Rizer, Michael Levenson, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

More than 50 reporters and photographers kept their eyes and cameras trained today on Massachusetts General Hospital, keeping vigil as the nation waited for any update on the condition of Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

President Bush telephoned the Democrat's hospital room this morning to check on the 76-year-old liberal icon, who suffered a seizure Saturday on Cape Cod.

"Take care of my friend," the Republican leader told Kennedy's wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, who answered the call, according to a family spokeswoman.

Kennedy and Bush occupy opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, but the politicians have worked together, most notably on the No Child Left Behind education law.

"The senator and Mrs. Kennedy were very appreciative of the call," said spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter in an e-mail. "The senator had a restful night, and will be undergoing further evaluation today. It is unclear whether anything definitive will be known today or tomorrow, but the doctors will let us know when there's something more to say about the cause of Saturday's seizure."

Outside the hospital, there was a flurry of activity in the media scrum at 9:45 a.m., when Victoria Reggie Kennedy stepped out of a black sport utility vehicle on Charles Street and walked into the hospital’s Warren Entrance. She had left the hospital complex 45 minutes earlier, slipping out a door near the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Victoria Reggie Kennedy did not speak to reporters.

Clusters of video cameras on tripods are staking out three hospital entrances, ready to catch a member of the Kennedy clan coming or going. Reporters have come from across the media spectrum, from local newspapers and television stations, to CNN, and even Extra, the television entertainment magazine.

Nine satellite vans were parked near the main entrance to the hospital with antennas extended high into the sky. Cameramen lingered on a nearby sidewalk, including one who napped in a folding cloth chair.

The senator spent Sunday watching baseball and movies from his hospital room. He fielded calls from friends and fellow political leaders, including Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama. The Illinois senator told the Globe Sunday that Kennedy surprised him with his vigor and sense of humor.

"He sounded great," Obama recounted in a telephone interview from the campaign trail in Portland, Ore. "He sounded like the Ted Kennedy we know and love. He joked a little bit about [how] this happens when you get an old politician going out there on the road."

Edmund Reggie, father of Kennedy’s wife, said today that he telephoned the senator from his home in Louisiana Sunday and teased him about the media coverage of his hospitalization.

"I told him, 'People go to the full extent to get their names in the paper, but this is going too far,' and we laughed about that," Reggie said in a telephone interview today. "He was 100 percent himself -- 100 percent."

Reggie said Kennedy had just returned from walking his beloved Portuguese water dogs, Splash and Sunny, on Saturday morning in Hyannisport and was getting ready to eat breakfast when he was suddenly stricken with what doctors later determined was a seizure.

"He was standing and he sat to make sure he wouldn’t fall," Reggie said. "He felt something happening."

Kennedy was transported to Cape Cod Hospital and then flown by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he has undergone a series of tests to determine the cause of the seizure.

Reggie said his daughter stayed overnight with Kennedy last night to comfort him.

"Teddy and Vicki have a great love affair," Reggie said. "She’s reassuring to him, and he’s a tower of strength for her, so it’s mutual."

Globe correspondent Matt Collette contributed to this report.

Posted by aryan at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)

Fenway Park unveils solar panels on roof

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The green at Fenway Park will no longer be limited to the cushiony grass, historic rafters, and 37-foot-high wall in left field. Enough solar panels have been installed on the roof to heat a third of the hot water needed at the 96-year-old ballpark.

The solar installation, which is being unveiled today, will provide 37 percent of the hot water needed at the stadium, reducing annual carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 18 tons. The project is being spearheaded by National Grid, which has committed $75,000 to Solar Boston.

City and federal officials announced plans for the environmental upgrade at Fenway last month to highlight a $600,000 initiative to increase the city's solar energy output 50-fold by 2015.

Dubbed Solar Boston, the effort will map neighborhoods to identify south-facing rooftops ideal for photovoltaic panels; market solar power to businesses and homeowners; and work to overcome technical and financial barriers to solar energy.

"The program is designed to jump-start widespread solar installations throughout Boston with a public-private partnership," said James Hunt, the city's environmental and energy services chief.

The goal is to increase solar output from the current 1/2 megawatt to 25 megawatts, which is enough to power 3,000 Boston households, Hunt said.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said last month that the goal is to "make clean, abundant, and affordable solar energy the norm and no longer an alternative source of energy."

The program will be funded in part by $150,000 from the Department of Energy, a grant the city matched. The federal government will also provide an additional $250,000 in technical assistance over two years, and the state has agreed to contribute $50,000, Hunt said.

The Menino administration plans to lead the citywide solar push by installing about $1 million worth of panels on municipal buildings, including Brighton High School, The Strand Theatre, Tobin Community Center, and the West Roxbury Branch Library. That is on top of Boston's $2 million Green Affordable Housing Program that has added solar to the roofs of six city developments.

Posted by aryan at 10:08 AM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2008

Ted Kennedy not in immediate danger; seizure cause sought

By Peter Schworm and Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Senator Edward M. Kennedy was hospitalized today after suffering a seizure, triggering shock in the political world and drawing an outpouring of support from across the nation and the ideological spectrum.

The 76-year-old Democrat, a tireless advocate for liberal causes and the surviving patriarch of the storied Kennedy political dynasty, was talkative and joking with family members this afternoon, friends and associates said. His condition was considered serious, they said, but his life did not appear to be in imminent danger.

‘‘Senator Kennedy was admitted to Massachusetts General today after experiencing a seizure at his home,’’ Kennedy’s personal physician, Dr. Larry Ronan, said in a statement released tonight. ‘‘Preliminary tests have determined that he has not suffered a stroke and is not in any immediate danger. He’s resting comfortably and watching the Red Sox game with his family.

‘‘Over the next couple of days, Senator Kennedy will undergo further evaluation to determine the cause of the seizure, and a course of treatment will be determined at that time,’’ Ronan said.

By the evening, the mood of Kennedy family and friends contrasted markedly to that of the morning, when he was stricken at his Hyannis Port compound at about 8:15 a.m., rushed first to Cape Cod Hospital and then transported by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

His children were urgently summoned to Boston. Telephone lines buzzed with politicians in Washington and Boston exchanging scraps of information, and television crews rushed to set up in the front drive of the hospital.

Kennedy, who underwent surgery in October to prevent a stroke but had appeared to rebound quickly, was undergoing a battery of tests to determine what caused the seizure.

Hospital personnel declined to comment on his condition, and the longer term impact of the episodes remained unclear.

But one family associate said yesterday evening that Kennedy was alert and joking with family and was watching the Red Sox play the Milwaukee Brewers. They planned to dine on takeout from Legal Sea Foods in his room last night, the associate said.

The senator was stricken by what was initially believed to be strokelike symptoms at his Cape house, but Kennedy’s Senate office released a statement around 2 p.m. that confirmed he had experienced a seizure.

A government official said he was believed to have suffered a second seizure on the flight to Boston.

‘‘He is undergoing a battery of tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure,’’ a brief statement from his Senate office read. ‘‘Senator Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours.’’

A seizure is an electrical disturbance in the brain that usually lasts no longer than a couple of minutes, and it can have multiple causes, including a fever, infection, dehydration, a stroke, a tumor, or an old head injury.

Over the day, members of his famous family, including his niece Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, and all three of his children — Patrick, a congressman from Rhode Island, Edward M. Kennedy Jr., and Kara — rushed to his side, either pushing through throngs of reporters gathered outside the hospital or slipping into a side entrance by Storrow Drive. Kennedy’s nephew, former Massachusetts congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II, also visited, as did Senator John F. Kerry.

It was the second time in seven months that Kennedy has been hospitalized. In October, doctors performed surgery to clean out a partially blocked neck artery they said had put him at risk of a stroke.

The chief of vascular surgery at the hospital described it at the time as ‘‘routine, uneventful, and successful,’’ and days afterward Kennedy friends were privately laughing over how quickly the senator demanded his release.

But doctors also described the extent of the buildup in Kennedy’s artery as ‘‘a very high-grade blockage’’ and said there was a slight chance it could recur in the next few years.

Reports of Kennedy’s hospitalization prompted a media frenzy and statements of sympathy from all three presidential candidates, who are Kennedy’s colleagues in the US Senate.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, beginning a tour of hospitals in Eugene, Ore., ahead of next week’s primary, told reporters he had been in touch with Kennedy’s family.

‘‘Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history,’’ Obama said. ‘‘He’s done more for healthcare than just about anybody in history. We are going to be rooting for him. I insist on being optimistic about how it’s going to turn out.’’

Kennedy gave Obama’s presidential campaign a major boost this year with his endorsement and has campaigned actively for the Illinois senator.

The other Democratic contender for president, Senator Hillary Clinton, said: ‘‘My thoughts and prayers are with Senator Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery.’’

John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, said Kennedy’s role in the US Senate could not be overstated.

‘‘He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him,’’ McCain said. ‘‘When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair, and generous partner.’’

Kerry, the state’s junior senator, said in a statement: ‘‘Teresa and I are praying for Teddy, Vicki, and all of his family, and we know that everyone in Massachusetts and people throughout the nation pray for a full and speedy recovery for a man whose life’s work has touched millions upon millions of lives.’’

Governor Deval Patrick released a statement saying: ‘‘The senator, Mrs. Kennedy, and their whole family are in our thoughts and prayers. Diane and I are sending good wishes and hoping for the senator’s speedy recovery.’’

Governor Mitt Romney, who lost his Senate bid to Kennedy in 1994, said: ‘‘Having run against him, I know firsthand what a fighter Ted can be. I trust he’ll fight through this, as well. We’re all pulling for him.’’

Kennedy, arguably the best known member of the US Senate, is an icon to those on the left and a scourge to conservatives nationwide. He was first elected in 1962 to fill the seat left open when his brother, John F. Kennedy, was elected president.

Edward Kennedy made an unsuccessful run for the presidency in 1980, losing the Democratic nomination to President Carter; it was an upstart challenge to an incumbent president that infuriated some in Kennedy’s own party.

He was hospitalized yesterday as the Kennedy family was involved in a charity bicycle ride that began at the John F. Kennedy Library in Dorchester earlier today and was scheduled to conclude at a Hyannis Port beach with a concert and lobster bake.

‘‘Massachusetts General is one of the best hospitals in the world; I’m 100 percent confident he’ll be fine,’’ Kennedy nephew Anthony Shriver, founder and chairman of the nonprofit Best Buddies, said as riders arrived this afternoon at the event.

State Senator Mark C. Montigny, who also attended the event and had visited the Kennedy compound earlier in the day, said: ‘‘From everything I’ve heard, he’s doing great. ... I’m shocked, but I’m equally pleased he seems to be doing very well.’’

At Mass General, dozens of reporters stood outside the entrance waiting for word on Kennedy’s condition, with more than a dozen television cameras from local stations and national networks.

When Kennedy underwent surgery in October, his doctors said that the blockage found in his left carotid artery could have triggered a stroke by choking off blood flow and preventing oxygen from getting to the brain or by breaking off and lodging in the brain.

About a quarter of strokes are due to carotid artery disease. Such surgery is typically performed on patients who have had a stroke or have an artery that is at least 70 percent blocked.

Kennedy felt no symptoms from the blockage, which was discovered from a routine MRI conducted to check on his spine, which was injured in a 1964 plane crash. At the time, his personal physician deemed his overall health excellent and said he exercised daily and ate well. After a short period of rest, Kennedy returned to the Senate floor Oct. 30.

Before the surgery, Kennedy’s only serious hospitalization is believed to have been after the crash of a small private plane more than 40 years ago. Kennedy suffered several fractured bones in his back, broken ribs, and internal bleeding in the crash, which killed two people.

The youngest of the nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Edward Kennedy was first elected to the Senate in 1962 to finish the final two years of his brother’s term. He has been reelected to eight full terms and is now the second most senior member of the Senate.

Twice married, Kennedy also has two stepchildren, Curran and Caroline Raclin.

Kennedy has two surviving sisters, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Jean Kennedy Smith. The latter was among his visitors today. Two other sisters, Rosemary Kennedy and Patricia Kennedy Lawford, died within the past three years.

Tania deLuzuriaga, James Vaznis, and Martin Finucane of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Posted by gwitherspoon at 8:39 PM | Comments (0)

The show goes on for Kennedy-backed charity event on Cape

By Tania deLuzuriaga, Globe Staff

A charity bike ride hosted by the Kennedy family went on as planned this afternoon, with riders pedaling from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston to a beach in the Hyannisport section of Barnstable.

Many riders said they hadn’t heard the news that Senator Edward Kennedy had been hospitalized.

But Kennedy nephew Anthony Shriver, founder and chairman of Best Buddies International, which raised $3 million from the event for mentally disabled people, said he was optimistic about his uncle’s prospects.

“Massachusetts General is one of the best hospitals in the world. I’m 100 percent confident he’ll be fine,” he said. "We've got a party going on here -- that's what he'd want."

State Sen. Mark Montigny, a Best Buddies board member who also attended the event, said he had visited the Kennedy compound earlier in the day and “from everything I’ve heard he’s doing great. ... I’m shocked, but I’m equally pleased he seems to be doing very well.”

The ride, in its 9th year, included 875 participants. More than 1,100 are expected tonight on the beach for a clam bake and a concert.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:41 PM | Comments (0)

Reaction to news of Ted Kennedy's hospitalization

Globe Staff and Wire Reports

Here are some reactions to news of Senator Edward M. Kennedy's hospitalization:

“My thoughts and prayers are with Sen. Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery.” -- Senator Hillary Clinton

"Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He's done more for health care than just about anybody in history. We are going to be rooting for him. I insist on being optimistic about how it's going to turn out." -- Senator Barack Obama.

"He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner. I consider it a great privilege to call him my friend. Cindy and I are praying for our friend, his wife, Vicki and the Kennedy family." -- Senator John McCain

"Ted Kennedy is beloved and respected on both sides of the aisle in the Senate in which he's been a giant for close to half a century, a legend in Massachusetts, and a dear friend to me and Teresa. ... Teresa and I are praying for Teddy, Vicki and all of his family and we know that everyone in Massachusetts and people throughout the nation pray for a full and speedy recovery for a man whose life's work has touched millions upon millions of lives." -- Senator John Kerry

Posted by mfinucane at 3:01 PM | Comments (0)

Thomas J. Flatley, 76, real estate magnate and philanthropist, dies

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr. and and Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

Thomas J. Flatley, a frugal, driven Irish immigrant who rose from Army enlistee to real estate magnate and became one of the richest men in the United States, died early this morning, his family confirmed.

Mr. Flatley, who was 76 and lived in Milton, had been suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

With determination and a strong Irish brogue, Mr. Flatley became a real estate king in the Boston area before there was a lot of competition, building a portfolio of suburban commercial properties once unrivaled in the region. He often said with pride that he did so without borrowing more than 40 percent of the value of his holdings.

"He just was the hardest-working guy there was," said Rob Griffin, president of Cushman & Wakefield of Massachusetts Inc., a commercial brokerage. "Morning, noon, and night, that was his passion, that was his everything. He was always thinking about adding to his portfolio. It wasn't for adding to his wealth, he never wanted to be idle. In his mind if he wasn't moving forward he was moving backward."

Renowned for working 80-hour weeks, Mr. Flatley drove his workers nearly as hard as himself and was known for making all key business decisions on his own. An employee once remarked that an order of new paper clips had to be approved by the boss.

While work motivated his life, Mr. Flatley also attended Mass daily at St. Agatha Church in Milton and enjoyed playing fast-paced handball games with the likes of former state attorney general Francis X. Bellotti.

Friends say Mr. Flatley had continued to work as much as possible during his illness, going into his office even after he needed the assistance of a wheelchair. He had sold two huge portfolios of residential and retail holdings over the last couple of years, at or near the peak of the market.

"When I leave this world, I don't take anything with me," he told the Globe in 1990 for a profile. "I wind up with 36 square feet."

Born in Ireland, he grew up on his family's 25-acre farm in County Mayo. He moved to New York at age 19, and enlisted in the US Army for two years, then moved north to Boston. He ran a plumbing business for a few years and soon moved into real estate, building two Quincy apartment buildings with a total of 33 units in 1958.

Though developing commercial buildings would make him rich, those first apartment buildings set the successful model for Mr. Flatley's lifelong strategy. Eschewing the hassles and expense of urban projects, he built short, flat buildings in the suburbs, rather than monumental skyscrapers.

Mr. Flatley leaves his wife Charlotte, five children, and 18 grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Posted by rweisman at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2008

Dorchester man sentenced to 14 years in 2006 homicide

By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Staff

A 34-year-old Dorchester man was sentenced to 14 years in state prison after his conviction in a 2006 stabbing death, the office of Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced today.

Michael Penn pleaded guilty in Suffolk Superior Court to one count of voluntary manslaughter for the April 2006 death of 39-year-old Eric Johnson of Mattapan.

The two men were arguing on Hosmer Street and the verbal fight led to a physical altercation in which Penn stabbed Johnson once in the abdomen, prosecutors said.

Evidence suggested that they were arguing over drugs and that Penn thought Johnson intended to rob him, prosecutors said. The case was expected to go to trial next week.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:48 PM | Comments (0)

Celebrating four years of same-sex marriage

Tom Lang (at left), Scott Morris, Andres Apperson, Liz Sherry, John Hosty-Grinnell and Raymond Grinnell all held the sign today.

By Globe Staff

Gay rights activists stood on the steps of the Statehouse today holding a sign commemorating the fourth anniversary of the day that same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts.

The anniversary is actually Saturday, said Tom Lang, co-director of knowthyneighbor.org, but the activists wanted to get their message out on a weekday while the Legislature was around.

Lang said it will also be the fourth anniversary of his own marriage to Alex Westerhoff.

“We do this every year to commemorate and thank Massachusetts on our anniversary. We stand all day with the sign. It’s the same sign; we just change the number,” he said.

Lang said he was heartened by the California Supreme Court ruling yesterday that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

“What happened in California gives us hope that maybe America will be America for gay people,” he said.

But opponents today began revving up their efforts, saying they would push for a constitutional amendment in California barring same-sex marriage.

Battle-worn activists on both sides of the issue in Massachusetts say they expect the state to be in the spotlight again as Californians debate the issue, the Globe reported today.

Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which opposes same-sex marriage, said Saturday would be “a sad reminder that the citizens of Massachusetts have never been afforded the opportunity to vote on the definition of marriage.”

Mineau’s group has been unable to get enough support in the Legislature for a proposal banning same-sex marriage to be placed on the ballot.

Mineau said the primary purpose of marriage is “the procreation and the nurturing of children. ... Marriage is about a man and a woman.”

Posted by mfinucane at 6:46 PM | Comments (0)

Getting the general ready for his closeup

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

Joshua Craine pays attention to the details on Hooker's trusty steed.

By Globe Staff

It was about time the general got a touchup.

So Joshua Craine of Daedalus Inc., a Watertown conservation firm, ascended in a blue lift today to the top of the statue of Civil War Major General Joseph Hooker at the State House to do some spring maintenance.

Clifford Craine, president of the company (and Joshua's father), said that, with the improving weather, it was time to wash, touch up the acrylic coating, and wax the bronze statue of "Fighting Joe" and his steed.

Craine said his company has the contract to maintain most of the statues outside the Statehouse, including statues of John F. Kennedy, Mary Dyer, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Horace Mann. The company also does a number of statues in the adjacent Boston Common and nearby Public Garden.

Craine said the statues have been specially treated to prevent corrosion due to acid rain. The coating has a lifespan of 10 years. But in the meantime, it needs to be touched up so that the wind, snow, sleet, and rain can't find any way in.

"I view it as important work. Essentially, it's an attempt to preserve our cultural history," he said

Posted by mfinucane at 4:59 PM | Comments (0)

Canton voters approve $4.5 million override

By Globe Staff

Voters in Canton approved a $4.5 million tax override yesterday, the town's second override in the 28 years the state’s Proposition 2 1/2 tax-limiting law has been in place.

“I think it certainly reflects the strength of the Canton community. Even during difficult financial times, the people of Canton absorbed the information and made the decision to invest in their community,” said Bob Burr, the chairman of the board of selectmen.

Under the law, the amount of property taxes raised by a community can only climb by 2 1/2 percent per year, with allowances for new growth. To raises taxes further than that, a community must vote to override the law.

Burr said the extra tax money would be used to restore a variety of cuts the town suffered in the fiscal 2008 budget in the schools and public safety agencies. It will also allow the town to cope with rising energy costs.

The town passed a smaller override in 1982. It has also approved debt exclusion overrides, which are temporary tax increases meant to pay for capital projects, Burr said.

Burr said he didn’t expect another override proposal in town any time soon. "I'm optimistic that a request for another override is not in the foreseeable future," he said.

Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said that the passage of an override by a town that had long avoided one “underscores how deep and wide the fiscal distress is” in cities and towns across the state.

Beckwith said towns are facing tough times because of stagnant state aid and rising costs for everything from construction to heating oil to health insurance.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:20 PM | Comments (0)

A barefoot chase halts Fairmount commuter trains

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

A police foot chase halted commuter rail trains on the Fairmount Line for 20 minutes this morning when a 17-year-old in bare feet and boxer shorts ran onto the tracks in Dorchester.

The chase started when officers with the Boston Youth Violence Strike Force visited an address on Greenwood Street to arrest the teenager, whose name was not released because of his age. He was wanted on charges that included possession of cocaine with intent to distribute near a school.

The teenager ran, leading officers through backyards, across the tracks, and into a backyard on Radcliffe Street, according to a Globe photographer who witnessed the arrest. The teen was also charged with possession of a firearm, police said.

Service on the Fairmount line resumed at about 8:45 a.m., said Lydia Rivera, an MBTA spokeswoman. The line runs through Dorchester, linking South Station and Reedville.

Posted by aryan at 3:41 PM | Comments (0)

Boston officer sentenced to 26 years in drug case

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Roberto "Kiko'' Pulido, the rogue Boston police officer who enlisted two fellow patrolman in a brazen scheme to escort trucks bringing cocaine into the city, was sentenced today to 26 years in federal prison by a judge who said the defendant had disgraced his badge.

Boston Police Department photo

"The people who wear that badge have a sense of honor,'' US District Judge William G. Young said, staring at Pulido, the ringleader of one of the most notorious police corruption scandals in recent Boston history. "You are ... dead to that sense of honor.''

The sentence was what a federal prosecutor had sought and six years longer than that recommended by Pulido's public defender, who said her client's abuse of steroids contributed to his crimes.

Pulido, who pleaded guilty in the middle of his trial in November to drug trafficking charges, apologized to both the Boston Police Department and the MBTA Transit Police, of which he had previously been a member.

"It was my lifelong goal to be a Boston police officer,'' said Pulido, wearing a khaki-colored jumpsuit and white sneakers. "No one is more disappointed than myself.''

Two rows of the courtroom were filled with supporters and relatives of Pulido. Most of them wore white T-shirts emblazoned with a photograph of a smiling Pulido beneath the words "Kiko We Love You.''

Michael K. Loucks, the first assistant US attorney in Massachusetts, who watched another federal prosecutor argue for the harsh punishment, said afterward that Pulido "deserves every second of that sentence.''

Pulido's guilty plea came on the fourth day of his trial in US District Court in Boston, capping an extraordinary police corruption scandal whose reverberations are still being felt.

In the previous two days, jurors heard a swaggering, expletive-spewing Pulido in two dozen conversations secretly recorded by the FBI as part of a carefully constructed sting that began in late 2003 and culminated with the arrests of Pulido and fellow officers Carlos Pizarro and Nelson Carrasquillo in July 2006. All three officers belonged to a police motorcycle unit.

Pulido and the two officers plotted an audacious scheme with men they thought were drug dealers to protect trucks that brought 140 kilograms of cocaine to Boston. The three officers did not know that the drug dealers were undercover FBI agents and that the cocaine had previously been seized by the government.

On April 23, 2006, Pulido and Carrasquillo monitored Police Department radio channels while a transfer of 40 kilograms of cocaine took place at a garage on Washington Street with the undercover FBI agents, according to prosecutors.

Then on June 8, 2006, the three police officers guided a truck containing about 100 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated wholesale value of more than $2 million from Western Massachusetts to the city, prosecutors said. The officers were paid a total of $51,000 by FBI agents posing as drug dealers.

The three officers were arrested in Miami in July 2006 by federal agent. Shortly before the arrests, the officers had arranged a deal to protect another shipment of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine and five kilograms of heroin.

The secret tape-recordings also featured Pulido allegedly running numerous other rackets involving identity fraud, fraudulently obtained store gift cards, steroid sales, and prostitution. Pulido was never charged in those schemes.

Jurors also saw a surveillance photograph of Pulido in a congratulatory embrace of an undercover agent posing as a drug dealer called Big Manny in an Atlantic City casino. Pulido hugged the phony drug dealer after receiving a softball-sized wad of $15,000 that bulged in his pocket.

Although the government had only presented part of its case against Pulido, the tapes and photographs had already made the defendant seem more like a grade B movie crime boss than a crimefighter.

Pulido pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and 1 kilogram of heroin and two counts of attempting to aid and abet the distribution of the cocaine. He pleaded no contest to a fourth charge of carrying a gun in a drug-trafficking crime.

In a Globe interview from a New Hampshire jail shortly after his plea, Pulido said he was pumped full of steroids when he suggested to undercover agents in Atlantic City that he knew a good way to transport cocaine into Boston.

He said a steroid addiction made him exaggerate many of the statements he made on the surveillance tapes and called many of his comments pure fantasy. In his mind at the time, he said, he was playing a role in a Hollywood movie. He even recited lines from "Training Day,'' the film about a corrupt officer.

"Anyone who knows me knows that I was acting,'' he said. "It was pure puffery.''

Pulido's co-defendants, Carrasquillo and Pizarro, were recently sentenced to 18 years and 13 years, respectively, after pleading guilty last year.

Authorities in March also charged an acquaintance of Pulido with helping to plant drugs and a gun on an innocent man and then breaking into his apartment to steal a safe containing $18,000 as part of a conspiracy with the rogue officer.

In addition, as many as a dozen Boston police officers have been summoned before a federal grand jury investigating steroid use and after-hours parties -- an offshoot of the probe that led to the convictions of the three officers, three law enforcement officials familiar with the case told the Globe in March.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:02 PM | Comments (0)

Train crew recognized for actions in Canton crash

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

Engineer Ronald Gomes and conductor Rick Platt examined the watches they were given at the ceremony.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

When Ronald Gomes saw a runaway freight car barreling towards the commuter rail train he was driving in the evening of March 25, he knew he had to act quickly.

“I knew that the impact ... was unavoidable,” Gomes said. “I knew that we were going to need emergency services, so I just tried to inform the dispatchers that we were going to need medical attention."

As he was on the radio, the 112-ton freight car smashed into his train. The terror in Gomes’s voice can be heard on dispatch tapes, which can be found by clicking here.

“It was just ‘Bang!’ It was so quick,” Gomes recalled today after a ceremony in Boston honoring him and his two fellow crew members, Richard Platt and Chris Leaman, for their actions in the crash.

“One month ago these men reacted professionally, swiftly, and calmly in a life-threatening situation they never could have expected when they got up in the morning,” said Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Bernard Cohen. “All three members of the crew deserve our thanks and recognition.”

Cohen was joined by officials from the MBTA and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., which runs the commuter rail service for the MBTA, at the ceremony, which also marked the graduation of eight new locomotive engineers.

Gomes was knocked out for a few minutes – he doesn’t know exactly how long – and woke up with a split lip, fractured ribs, and two missing teeth. Dripping with blood, Gomes reached again for his radio. "A box car crashed into us," he told the dispatcher.

The collision in Canton sent the southbound train heading into Canton Junction hurtling 47 feet backward and threw passengers and crew to the floor, injuring 150.

When Gomes got out of his engine, he said, he saw Platt, the conductor, and Leaman, the assistant conductor, helping injured passengers off the train.

The ceremony offered the new graduates the chance to learn one final lesson before they start driving trains of their own.

“To the members of the Class of 2007, we hope you are never faced with a similar situation to the one in Canton Junction,” Cohen said. “But if you ever are, you now have a model for how to respond in the crew of Train 917.”

Posted by mfinucane at 2:48 PM | Comments (0)

Blasts rock East Bridgewater after police find explosives

(Robert E. Klein for the Boston Globe)

Troopers on the State Police bomb squad remotely controlled a robot this morning as they disarmed explosives allegedly found at a home on East Street.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

EAST BRIDGEWATER -- More than 30 explosions have rattled windows in a leafy neighborhood here since the State Police bomb squad descended on a yellow Colonial-style home Thursday evening and allegedly found a cache of pipe bombs, according to police and neighbors.

The largest blast came just after midnight, when authorities blanketed the area with automated phone calls warning residents to brace themselves.

"It rattled the windows," said Jim Widenfeller, who lives a fifth of a mile away. "It really rocked the neighborhood."

The owner of the yellow Colonial, Michael Ambrose, was arraigned today in Brockton District Court on charges of intimidating a witness, possession of one OxyContin pill, and 35 counts of possessing infernal machines.

Defense attorney John Creedon said after the arraignment that there was no evidence to suggest that his client was “psychotic or threatened to kill anyone.” Creedon described the explosives as a hobby for the 41-year-old landscaper who “is interested in chemistry and has been building various types of pipe bombs since his high school years.”

State Fire Marshall Stephen Coan said the pipe bombs were "very dangerous with the potential for great harm" that required the State Police bomb squad and several other agencies to work “long hours to stabilize the area and render safe those devices."

"This is one of the largest quantities of hazardous devices that has been found in one location in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in recent memory,” Coan said.

Officers executed a search warrant at Ambrose’s East Street home after receiving a tip from an Easton gun shop owner named James Sheppard, according to an East Bridgewater police report filed today in court. Sheppard told police that three weeks ago Ambrose “came into my shop in Easton saying that he gets drunk and makes booms.”

Sheppard dismissed Ambrose’s talk as nonsense until the gun dealer visited his East Bridgewater home Thursday to inspect an all-terrain vehicle he was selling, according to the report. Sheppard saw the explosives and went to police.

According to his defense attorney, Ambrose does not have a criminal record. He has licenses to possess firearms and a carry concealed weapons. Officer found eight rifles, shotguns, and handguns when they searched his home, according to the report.

Ambrose has run his own landscaping business for the last 17 years, Creedon said. He was the object of a 2005 restraining order filed in Plymouth Probate and Family Court by the mother of his daughter, who is now 5 years old. The couple also have a 6-month-old baby, according to Creedon, who did not know the child’s gender.

Police, fire, and emergency vehicles converged on Ambrose’s home Thursday at 6 p.m. Police marked off a 250-foot perimeter around the yellow house and evacuated the nearest homes. Neighbor Julie Aldrich said this morning that she has lived on East Street her entire life and never met Ambrose.

“What was he planning to do with all of that stuff?” Aldrich asked. “I hope they find that out. We all want to know that.”

Posted by aryan at 2:48 PM | Comments (0)

Red tide outbreak forces ban on North Shore shellfishing

By David Abel, Globe Staff

Red tide has spread from central Maine to Gloucester, making it unsafe to harvest soft shell clams or mussels from those coastal waters, state officials said.

(Paul Cunningham/The Times Record) A clam digger trudged across mudflats in Freeport, Maine, where red tide has limited the shellfish harvest.

The single-celled algae carries toxins that concentrate over time in shellfish, making them poisonous, even lethal. Red tide often occurs in late spring and summer, when the algae grow rapidly. Crabs, lobsters, fish, and shrimp are not affected.

“It’s a little earlier than usual, but it’s not abnormal to have red tide now,” said Michael Hickey, chief biologist for the state Division of Marine Fisheries. “We are always watchful of this from the beginning of May.”

The state has sampling stations that test shellfish every two days. He said a no-harvesting order along the North Shore took effect on Thursday for mussels, carnivorous marine snails, and soft-shell clams.

Hickey added there’s no risk for residents who eat clams or mussels already on the market. The state suspends harvesting when officials find 80 micrograms of the toxin for 100 grams of shellfish meat. It takes between 250 and 300 micrograms to make people sick.

He said some oceanographic models show this year’s bloom could approach the damage that occurred in 2005.

“I’m not in a position to make predictions, but we’re always worried,” Hickey said. “We have to be ready for that.”

The 2005 outbreak, which also began in the middle of May, extended from northern Maine to Nantucket. It halted business for nearly 2,000 clammers, oyster farmers, and mussel harvesters for much of the summer. They lost tens of millions of dollars, and cell counts were 40 to 100 times higher than normal.

The state has been monitoring red tide since 1972, when there was also a large outbreak.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

With gas rising towards $4, bikers hoping for a boom

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

A hearty biker in Boston last fall. Mayor Thomas Menino wants to make the city more bike-friendly.

By Globe Staff

With gas prices edging towards $4 a gallon, biking activists are hoping that more people will take to the streets on their two-wheelers.

While there’s no hard data showing that people are getting more interested in biking, David Watson, executive director at the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, said there has been increased demand for the bicycle commuting talks his group gives at workplaces.

In the past two months, the group has given seven or eight, which is more than twice as many as the three it did all last year.

Bikers out on the road are also telling the group they’re seeing more people out riding, he said. And the bike racks on some MBTA buses, which were mostly empty last year when they were introduced, are being used more.

“I think the arguments that it’s good for your health and it’s good for the environment and it’s fun have always been true. I think what has really gotten people off the fence is the increasing gas prices,” he said.

He said statistics show that 50 percent of workers live within five miles of their jobs, which he called an “extemely bikeable distance.”

“I think people are recognizing it’s very doable to bike,” said Watson, whose group promotes bicycle safety while encouraging people to ride. “We want more people on bikes.”

Posted by mfinucane at 12:38 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2008

Police release new sketch of Esplanade sex assault suspect

Police used new high-tech methods to generate this image of the suspect.

By Globe Staff

Law enforcement officials today issued a new sketch of the man believed responsible for two sexual assaults on the Esplanade last year, urging witnesses to step forward to help them solve the case.

The officials also warned people that, with warmer weather arriving, they should remain alert, especially in isolated areas late at night.

Officials believe that the man committed the June 16, 2007 sexual assault of a 20-year-old woman on the Esplanade and the July 29, 2007 abduction on Beacon Street of a different 20-year-old woman, who was forced to walk to the Esplanade, where she was sexually assaulted and robbed.

Officials said they had also linked the man to a third crime: the July 29, 2006 sexual assault of a 30-year-old woman in the area of Joe Moakley Park in South Boston.

Suffolk district attorney's spokesman Jake Wark said the computer-generated sketch of the suspect had been developed by police with the help of the victim of the July 2007 attack and experts from Boston University.

Police Commissioner Edward Davis said in a statement that police hoped that the release of the image would provide detectives with new leads.

Officials also renewed their call for several witnesses to come forward who are believed to have been in the area around the times the crimes were committed.

"Our efforts depend on witnesses and their observations ... Your statements could help us crack this case," said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

The victims described their assailant as a clean-shaven black man in his mid-20s to mid-30s, standing 5-feet-8 to 5-feet-10. He was bald and had a medium to large build at the time of the attacks, police said.

Officials asked for anyone with knowledge of the crimes or the suspect to contact the State Police at 617-727-6780, the Boston Police CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS, or text the word "tip" to CRIME (27463).

Posted by mfinucane at 5:43 PM | Comments (0)

Investigations underway in New Bedford police shooting

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

New Bedford Police and the Bristol District Attorney’s office are conducting parallel investigations of the fatal shooting by police of a 45-year-old man at his home.

The shooting of Gerard Tierney, based on preliminary investigation, appears to have been justified, said Lieutenant Jeffrey P. Silva, a police spokesman.

Police responded just before 5 p.m. Wednesday to a call at an Ellen Street residence. Silva said a neighbor told officers arriving at the scene that Tierney had chased him into his house with knives in both hands. Police went across the street to Tierney’s home and found him in a finished basement.

Tierney threatened to kill the officers and ignored numerous commands to drop the knives. Officers attempted to pepper spray him twice, Silva said.

“That didn’t work and Mr. Tierney then continued his threats, advanced up the staircase towards the officers, at which time he was shot and he died as a result of his gunshot wounds,” Silva said.

Two officers fired their guns and Tierney was hit more than once, Silva said. But it wasn’t clear if both officers fired shots that hit Tierney.

The names of the officers, who have been placed on paid administrative leave, weren’t released.

Silva said no information was available on what had triggered Tierney’s outburst against his neighbor.

Bristol District Attorney's spokesman Gregg Miliote had no comment on the details of the case.

“Once all the facts are gathered, we will release our conclusions,” he said.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:29 PM | Comments (0)

Man carrying parking meter arrested in Boston

By Globe Staff

A young man literally tried to steal some time -- in the form of a two-headed parking meter -- but he was spotted in the early morning hours by police on duty in the downtown area, Boston police said.

Officers saw the man carrying the meter at about 1:47 a.m. in the Charles Street area. When police approached, the man allegedly attempted to flee. After a short foot chase, the officers caught him.

Alexander King-Geovanis, 20, told the officers he had found the meter in the Chinatown section and decided to keep it.

Police said in a statement they checked the meter and found it contained an undetermined amount of money.

King-Geovanis pleaded not guilty today in Boston Municipal Court to a charge of receiving stolen property worth more than $250. He was released on personal recognizance and another hearing was slated for June 19, a court clerk said.

“Instead of hitting the jackpot, the suspect in this case found himself on the wrong side of the law,” said Officer James Kenneally, a police spokesman.

King-Geovanis's lawyer, David Eisenstadt of Boston, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:06 PM | Comments (0)

Charles River oil slick dissipates

By Globe Staff

A slick discovered on the Charles River Basin this morning was caused by a spill of about 5 gallons of oil, officials said.

The source of the spill of heavy oil could not be determined, said Joe Ferson, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, which dispatched a specialist to the scene.

"It could have been any number of vessels on the waterway at this time of the year," he said, noting that the spill was dissipating -- and was too small to be cleaned up.

The spill, which was about 300 yards long, was discovered today at about 10 a.m. between the Longfellow Bridge and the old Charles River dam, Coast Guard Petty Officer Lauren Jorgensen said.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:30 PM | Comments (0)

Manhole mishap injures one at North Quincy MBTA station

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A worker was injured in a manhole explosion this morning at the North Quincy MBTA station, officials said.

Two subcontractors working for the MBTA were removing asbestos from the manhole when a third worker in a truck heard an explosion, said MBTA Transit Police Sergeant Brian Carey. The two workers in the manhole climbed out, one with sustaining injuries to his face and arm.

MBTA officials received the call around 10:40 this morning. Quincy police and firefighters also responded.

The injured worker was taken to Boston Medical Center. Because of the asbestos, a hazmat situation has been declared until the Quincy Fire Department gives the clearance for MBTA crews to return and remove the material, Carey said.

The MBTA will also determine the cause for the explosion once clearance is given. Carey said one possibility is that one of the workers hit a live wire.

Posted by mfinucane at 1:50 PM | Comments (0)

Defense claims ironclad alibi in 2006 slaying

(Erik Jacobs for The Boston Globe)

Rodrick Taylor conferred with his attorney this morning.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Rodrick J. Taylor has an "ironclad alibi" and did not kill Dominique Samuels inside a Dorchester rooming house in 2006 – and he was not the man who set the woman’s body on fire in Franklin Park, hoping to destroy forensic evidence, Taylor’s lawyer said today.

The 37-year-old Taylor is on trial in Suffolk Superior Court on charges of first-degree murder in the slaying of the 19-year-old Samuels, a graduate of Milton High School where she had captained the cheerleading squad.

In his opening statement to the jury today, lawyer John Swomley flatly declared that "big and bold" evidence will show Taylor to be innocent.

"Rodrick Taylor did not kill Dominique Samuels," he said. "He did not burn her body."

Swomley blamed the killing on a key prosecution witness, the man prosecutors say Taylor confessed his crime to.

Samuels was living in a rooming house on Woodbine Street along with several friends from her childhood. She was last seen alive early in the morning of April 28, 2006.

Swomley said cellphone records will show that Taylor was riding in a car between Norwood and Boston at the time when Samuels’s body was being burned. And if he did not burn the body, then he did not commit the crime, Swomley said.

Swomley acknowledged Taylor’s alibi may have a key flaw. Swomley said Taylor was with the mother of his son as both rode to Norwood to drop off a nebulizer for their asthmatic child. The mother, Swomley said, will testify that Taylor was not with her at that time.

"She's lying," Swomley said.

In his opening statement to the jury, Edmond Zabin, chief of the Suffolk County district attorney's homicide unit, said forensic evidence and witnesses inextricably link Taylor to Samuels's killing and the subsequent violation of her remains.

Zabin said he will not be able to offer a motive for the attack, but said Samuels fought for her life inside a second-floor bedroom while two other people in the apartment ignored her screams and cries for help.

"She fought, she screamed, she cried out," Zabin said. “She scratched and clawed with every single ounce of her strength, but she lost.’’

He added that the most important witness in the case against Taylor will be Samuels herself because of the scratch marks Taylor had on his arms around the time the young woman was killed.

“Her bloody signature is on the arms of her killer,’’ he said.

The trial before Judge Stephen Neel is ongoing.

Posted by mfinucane at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)

Interested in luxury seat at Pats games? Better read the fine print

By Globe Staff

If you want to buy those luxury seats at Gillette Stadium to enjoy Patriots games, better read the fine print first.

A man who decided he wanted out of his 10-year agreement for two luxury seats after just one year must pay for the seats for the rest of the 10 years, the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled today.

Paul Minihane, a real estate broker with experience as a contractor and developer, signed up for two $3,750 seats in the Club Level III section for 10 seasons, from 2002 to 2011.

The contract he signed said that if he defaulted, he would have to pay the balance for all the remaining years.

Minihane paid a $7,500 deposit and later made another $2,000 payment, using the seats for the 2002 season. But after that, he made no further payments to NPS LLC, the developer of the stadium.

A lower court judge said the contract's provisions were unreasonable and ordered Minihane to pay $6,000.

But the Supreme Judicial Court said today that Minihane hadn't shown that the provisions weren't unreasonable.

The developers were entitled to the "liquidated damages" the contract required in case of a breach, the court said.

The court noted that even though the Patriots had won a Super Bowl in early 2002, shortly before the contract was inked, demand for luxury seats "was then and remains variable and depends, according to the evidence, on the current performance of the team, as well as other factors, such as the popularity of the players and the relative popularity of other sports, that are unpredictable at the time of contract."

The court said the terms "may be harsh," but Minihane -- who at the time of the Superior Court trial was chairman of the Boston Finance Commission -- hadn't shown that they were "unreasonably and grossly disproportionate."

The court awarded the stadium developers the total amount of unpaid fees: $65,500, plus interest.

Posted by mfinucane at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)

One killed in Mass Pike rollover

By Globe Staff

A 29-year-old Palmer man was killed in a one-car rollover crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike early this morning, State Police said.

The crash happened at about 3:15 a.m. at mile marker 61.7, State Police said in a statement. A preliminary investigation indicated that David Mann's 2000 Ford Explorer was traveling eastbound when the vehicle struck the median guardrail, rolling over it and landing upright in the westbound lanes.

Mann was not wearing his seat belt and was ejected from the car. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Posted by mfinucane at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)

Fire in Lawrence displaces 23

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A three-alarm fire in a Lawrence apartment building early this morning caused no injuries, but left 23 people on the streets, fire officials said.

Firefighters were summoned shortly after midnight to the fire at the Bailey Street building, Deputy Fire Chief Jack Bergeron said. The fire in the old building quickly went to three alarms, taking more than three hours to fight.

“It took quite a while. I left the scene myself at around 2:35 and it was still going pretty good,” Bergeron said.

The building, which contained four apartments, collapsed, making the blaze difficult to extinguish. Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Bergeron estimated damages at $400,000 and said the building did not seem salvageable. He said an adjacent building had received some heat damage but residents in that building have been allowed to return.

The Red Cross was working to provide shelter for the displaced residents, he said.

Posted by mfinucane at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2008

Brewster police investigating 'potentially explosive' devices

By Globe Staff

Brewster Police are continuing to investigate after several potentially explosive devices were discovered in the basement of a home on Colonial Way Tuesday.

Detective Sergeant Heath Eldredge said police are waiting for results from the State Police crime lab before deciding whether to press charges.

He said a preliminary investigation indicated the devices did not belong to the homeowner and may have belonged to a prior resident.

He declined to describe the devices except to say that several were found, they were homemade, and they were potentially explosive.

Police were called to the home at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Fire and police officials evacuated several residents from surrounding homes and closed streets in the area before entering the home.

The bomb squad disposed of the devices and residents were allowed to return to their homes at 3 a.m. today.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:39 PM | Comments (0)

Funds sought to help Chinese earthquake victims

By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff

Stunned by the devastation of Monday's powerful earthquake in China, immigrants, students and advocates are mounting fundraising campaigns to provide food and shelter for the victims and to help them rebuild their homes.

In Chinatown yesterday, Cathay Bank urged customers to donate by check, cash, or wire transfer as part of a nationwide campaign to raise funds. Across the river at MIT, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association pledged to collect money at a table in the student center all week. On Sunday, the Boston Sichuan Association will drop donation boxes at Chinese-language schools across eastern Massachusetts.

"We are trying to use all our force to help them to survive these devastating earthquakes and the reconstruction afterward. It's terrible," said Huajian Yao,an MIT graduate student and chairman of the Chinese Association of Science and Technology, which planned a meeting last night of 30 student and community organizations to raise money.

On Monday night, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England -- an umbrella group for Chinese organizations in the region -- will hold a meeting on Tyler Street in Chinatown to plan yet another fund-raiser.

Gilbert Ho, president of the association, said he had fielded multiple phone calls from people who were astonished by the death toll and images of destruction beamed in from China.

"They are very eager to help," he said. "It's hard to try to find an area where they can do something. Because of the language barrier, they don't know where to turn to help or to get information."

Across the metropolitan area, Chinese residents e-mailed and telephoned one another, and constantly checked the news for updates about the quake.

For many residents, the relief effort was deeply personal.

Johnny Ip, senior vice president and general manager at Cathay Bank in New England, said customers shared urgent stories of their efforts to find relatives. Yesterday, he called a press conference of English- and Chinese-language media to announce that the bank would partner with the Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation to collect donations for victims.

"We have talked with some of our customers and friends who have relatives in the Sichuan area," he said. "Some can find relatives and some have not."

Yao, the MIT graduate student, is majoring in geophysics and has visited the fault lines along Sichuan province many times in recent years for his studies. But yesterday, he was more worried about a former classmate in China, who has not answered his cell phone.

Hong Jiang, vice president of the 500-member Boston Sichuan Association, was able to reach her uncle, who lives near the provincial capital of Chengdu, but not her two cousins, who live closer to the center of the earthquake.

Since the quake hit, she has alternated between calling China and fielding dozens of calls and e-mails from local residents eager to help their relatives back home. On Sunday, they will collect money at Chinese-language schools in Acton, Newton, Cambridge, Sharon, Andover, and Boston.

"I really want to help," she said yesterday. "The only thing we can do is donate money."

James Vaznis of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Maria Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com

Posted by mfinucane at 6:22 PM | Comments (0)

Cash, OxyContin seized in Marshfield drug raid

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Police seized $56,000 worth of OxyContin, a loaded handgun, and a large amount of cash early Tuesday morning from a Marshfield home. Three adults, including the parents of two young toddlers, were arrested on drug charges.

Police raided the Island Street home of Richard Muldoon, 27, and Jeannean Socha, 24, at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.

They found 710 OxyContin tablets – which can be sold on the street for upwards of $70 a pill – and $17,000 in cash in an upstairs bedroom, Marshfield Police Lieutenant Michael McDonough said today.

In addition to the cash and pills, police confiscated a loaded .40-caliber pistol, a car, and a small quantity of marijuana.

Police alleged the couple had been selling drugs on the South Shore.

Muldoon and Socha’s two children were placed into the custody of Socha’s father, police said.

Police also arrested Socha’s 22-year-old cousin Bryan Baron, who had been living with the couple.

Muldoon and Socha face a variety of charges, including possession of OxyContin and possession with intent to distribute OxyContin. Muldoon also faces firearms charges. Baron was charged with possession of OxyContin and an outstanding warrant.

All three pleaded not guilty to all the charges at their arraignment in Plymouth District Court, police said. There were no telephone numbers listed for any of the three in the Marshfield telephone directory.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:01 PM | Comments (0)

Oil tanker rolls over, fuel spills, in Harwich

(Vincent DeWitt for The Boston Globe)

The tanker truck rested on top of a pickup truck after the crash.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A 12,000-gallon oil tanker rolled over at the intersection of Great Western Road and Lothrop Avenue in Harwich this afternoon, releasing 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of fuel oil, authorities said.

Another vehicle was involved in the crash and one person was taken to the hospital, according to rescuers at the scene.

The oil spilled onto the road and into a nearby cranberry bog, said Ed Coletta, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Vacuum trucks have been dispatched to begin cleanup of the road and the bog.

The tanker is owned by Cape Cod Oil, based in Provincetown, Coletta said. A man answering the phone at the company's offices said the company would not comment until Thursday morning.

“The town DPW (Department of Public Works) did a good job of berming the area off with sand and it appears that they have caught about 1,000 gallons,” Coletta said.

A catch basin at the side of the road also collected some oil. The truck was still leaking as of mid-afternoon, he said.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:42 PM | Comments (0)

In wake of tragic fire, new rules for restaurant kitchen vent cleaners

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Commercial kitchen grease cleaners who work in Boston restaurants soon will have to undergo training or testing to prove they are qualified, under an ordinance approved unanimously today by the Boston City Council.

The rules require restaurants to have their kitchen hoods and vent systems cleaned between one and four times a year, depending on the type of restaurant. And the cleaning companies must be licensed by the city.

In order to be licensed, a cleaning company must be certified by an organization approved by the city, and that certification will potentially require expensive training. To keep the certification within reach for smaller, established companies, the ordinance was changed to allow those companies to take an exam, as an alternative to paying for the training.

The law is a reaction to the death of two West Roxbury firefighters in an August restaurant fire that started in a grease-clogged kitchen vent. Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who offered an earlier version of the ordinance, must sign the Council's version for it to become law.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:13 PM | Comments (0)

Judge bars use of jail tapes against Lincoln-Sudbury slay defendant -- for now

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

WOBURN -- A Middlesex Superior Court judge today barred prosecutors -- for now -- from using as evidence taped conversations between murder suspect John Odgren and his family, recordings that prosecutors say would show the teen was sane when he allegedly stabbed a Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School classmate to death last year.

Superior Court Judge Raymond Brassard said prosecutors violated state law by using a subpoena to collect copies of all of Odgren's telephone and visiting-room conversations from the Plymouth County sheriff's department, which held the 17-year-old following his arrest in the Jan. 19, 2007 killing of James Alenson, according to attorneys involved in the case.

Brassard said prosecutors needed to narrow their request for tapes and they should not be able to get all the recordings at once, attorneys said.

"That's good for us,'' said defense attorney Jonathan Shapiro in a telephone interview following Brassard's decision. He said the judge ordered both defense and prosecution to hand over their copies of the tapes to court officials.

Shapiro had asked Brassard to throw out the conversations as he presses forward with an insanity defense for the thin teenager who appeared in court today with a peach-fuzz moustache and tousled hair.

Odgren, who has Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, which carries a sentence of life without parole. If found not guilty by reason of insanity, he would be sent to a state mental health facility and possibly be released if experts conclude he is not dangerously mentally ill.

A spokesman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone said Brassard has not shut the door on prosecutors' plans to let a jury hear Odgren's own words at trial. He said prosecutors are mulling three options, all of which could lead to the tapes becoming evidence again.

"We remain confident that these jail tapes will be allowed in trial,'' spokesman Corey Welford said in a statement. He said prosecutors can appeal the judge's ruling, file a motion claiming they are entitled to the evidence, or subpoena the tapes again just before the case goes to trial.

For years, telephone calls from all state prisons and county jails have been recorded.

Prior to Brassard's ruling, Assistant District Attorney Daniel J. Bennett said he wanted Odgren's parents to testify at a hearing about their son's demeanor in the hours and weeks after Odgren allegedly stabbed the 15-year-old freshman to death inside a school bathroom. He said the tapes show a lucid and coherent Odgren, not someone in the grips of extreme mental illness.

He also said he wanted to use recordings made when Odgren had visitors at the detention facility where inmates are seprated from relatives by a clear plastic wall and must use a telephone to communicate. Those phone conversations are automatically recorded, officials said.

Bennett told the judge that once, during a visit with her son, Dorothy Odgren set aside a phone and gave her son verbal instructions through the plastic screen to stay inside his cell to strengthen the mental health defense strategy.

"She stated to the defendant through the glass without the phone he should stay in his lockup and in his bed'' in order to strengthen the claim of mental instability, Bennett said. "It was purposely done through the glass and not the recording system.''

Bennett told the judge that prosecutors had routinely subpoenaed the Plymouth County sheriff's department for the recordings, a view echoed by George Pyne, a sheriff's department employee who said he had sent "thousands'' of similar recordings to prosecutors around the state in the past 10 years.

Robert M. Griffin, a Boston defense attorney and former Suffolk County prosecutor, said that judges once routinely allowed prosecutors to use taped phone conversations.

"Even though they warn you that the phones are being recorded, if you are a prisoner down there, what are you going to do if you have to make a phone call?'' Griffin said. "You are a captive audience.''

Griffin said that in recent months some judges have changed course and raised questions, similar to those being posed by Brassard, about whether it is legally appropriate for prosecutors to easily obtain the tapes with a simple subpoena.

Shapiro said Brassard's ruling helps his client, but could also help other defendants in those cases. He said Middlesex prosecutors had gone on a "fishing expedition" when they sought the tapes.

Posted by jellement at 4:50 PM | Comments (0)

OSHA cites Salem power plant owners for fatal explosion

(Robert Spencer for The Boston Globe)

A Salem police officer stood guard at the gate of the Salem Harbor Power Station in November after a boiler tube ruptured.

By Globe Staff

The owners of a Salem power plant are facing federal citations for alleged safety violations after a steam explosion last year that killed three workers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said today that Dominion Energy New England had failed to take effective steps at the Salem Harbor Power Station to protect employees from hazards from ruptured or leaking boiler tubes and piping.

The federal workplace safety agency also said the area where the plant's boiler tubes ruptured had not been entered or inspected in more than nine years.

"The company must initiate and maintain effective safeguards to identify and eliminate such hazards, both to protect its employees, and to prevent future leaks, ruptures, or explosions," Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA's acting area director in Methuen, said in a statement. "Proper inspection and maintenance are critical to detecting potentially dangerous conditions."

The agency said it was issuing a total of 10 citations for serious violations to Dominion Energy New England carrying a total of $46,800 in proposed fines. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to meet with OSHA or contest the citations and fines.

A spokesman for Dominion Energy didn't immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

Engineer Phillip Robinson, mechanic Mark Mansfield, and rookie Mathew Indeglia, were killed in the Nov. 6, 2007, explosion when they were enveloped in a cloud of steam that approached 600 degrees.

The plant, which is more than 50 years old, recently started to power up again, following months of work by Salem Harbor employees, investigators, and cleaning crews to inspect the plant's machinery and clean up fly ash and a small amount of asbestos left from the accident.

The Essex County district attorney's office is also investigating the accident.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:03 PM | Comments (0)

Green Line's B branch to remain shut at least through rush hour

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

Shuttle bus service is expected to continue on the Green Line's B branch through the evening rush hour today as workers undertake repairs to the damage caused when a trolley derailed overnight and caught fire, the MBTA said.

Officials are hoping trolley service can resume tomorrow morning, said MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera.

The trolley had roughly 30 passengers on board at 1:30 a.m. when it derailed at Chestnut Hill station, hit a pole, and damaged overhead wires, Rivera said. None of the riders were hurt, but the crash caused some significant damage to the trolley and the track, Rivera said.

Robert Katz, who lives a block away from the accident, could see the smoke from his window at about 2 a.m. this morning.

“I saw the thing burning before the fire department got there,” he said. “It looked like there was just people milling around, nobody running or screaming."

Riders are being bused on the B branch between Boston College and Washington Street stations.

Rivera suggested that riders allow a little more time for their commutes.

She said an investigation would determine how the accident happened, but "right now, we're just trying to bring our service back to normal."

Posted by aryan at 2:45 PM | Comments (0)

City Council approves bilingual ballot petition

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff/file 2005)

Voting information was written in Chinese and a sample ballot in Chinese and English was posted outside a polling place in Chinatown in 2005.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

The Boston City Council unanimously approved a petition today asking state lawmakers to pass a special law requiring election officials to translate all candidates' names into Chinese on city ballots.

The approval occurred over the objections of Secretary of State William F. Galvin, who says translating names could lead to confusion, and the city's chief elections official who said it would be difficult to translate the names in time for the November election.

The city already translates the names of candidates for local elections into Chinese characters. The measure expands the requirement to candidates for state and federal office. The petition now needs the approval of Mayor Thomas M. Menino before going to the Legislature.

"I along with the support of all of my colleagues, thousands of Chinese who live in this country, and the billion-plus Chinese who live around the world, would respectfully disagree that doing transliteration would be more hurtful than helpful," said Councilor Sam Yoon, who sponsored the measure.

The Globe reported today that the measure seeks to preserve the gains Asian-American voters have made after a 2005 settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice, which had sued Boston over alleged voting rights violations. That agreement, which expires this year, requires Boston to provide bilingual ballots in Chinese and Vietnamese, as well as other measures. Boston started printing the ballots in areas with high numbers of Chinese and Vietnamese residents. Last year, city officials decided to "transliterate" candidates' names on the ballots into Chinese characters.

Posted by aryan at 1:59 PM | Comments (0)

Iraqi translator's wife wins reprieve from deportation

By Globe Staff

US Senator John Kerry says he has been able to stave off the deportation of the wife of an Iraqi translator who has been decorated for his work during four tours in Iraq with the United States military.

The difficulties faced by Raad Al-Hilfy, an Iraqi native, and his wife, Norma, who immigrated to the United States from Guatemala, were described last week in a column by the Globe's Adrian Walker.

Kerry late last month contacted the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. The ICE within days postponed Norma's removal for one year so her petitions for legal residency can be considered, Kerry's office said.

"A woman whose husband has been wounded in action and awarded a Medal of Freedom should not have to fear being deported," Kerry said in a statement.

"At a time when shortages for translators have made it harder to win hearts and minds and get Iraqis on our side, Raad Al-Hilfy answered the call of duty and reminded all of us what the words citizenship and patriotism really mean. It is fair and just that his family should be allowed to stay here with him in his adopted country," Kerry said.

Posted by mfinucane at 1:08 PM | Comments (0)

Cape braces for a hurricane -- drill

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff/file 1991)

Hurricane Bob was the last major cyclone to hit Cape Cod, sloshing ashore on Buzzards Bay on Aug. 20, 1991.

By Globe Staff

No part of Massachusetts is more susceptible to a hurricane than Cape Cod, a 65-mile elbow of sand where any mass evacuation to the mainland must be squeezed over two narrow bridges. On a peak summer weekend, the shores swell with more than a million vacationers, a scenario that could create a traffic catastrophe if even a weak hurricane took aim.

With a new hurricane season two weeks away, some 300 federal, state, and local authorities today are practicing a revamped plan to move people off the Cape. The annual drill at Otis Air National Guard Base will simulate a Category 3 hurricane barreling toward Massachusetts. The mock command center will track the storm from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Massachusetts Maritime Academy cadets will pose as desperate evacuees seeking shelter and medical attention.

The key to disaster planning is preparation and heeding the danger of a potential storm when it is still several days away, said State Police Sergeant Barry Domingos.

“When it is hitting Bermuda, we are already in the planning stages,” Domingos said this morning in a telephone interview. “We are not waiting until it is off the coast of New Jersey.”

The revamped emergency plan includes adjustments for a population increase, new developments, and changes to key roadways, such as the elimination of the Sagamore Rotary on Route 6 in Bourne. Even on a peak summer weekend, an evacuation would involve a maximum of 350,000 people, with the rest taking shelter in well-built homes and shelters on the Cape, Domingos said. Authorities would focus on people living in low-lying areas and those in less sturdy mobile homes and summer cottages that might not withstand a strong storm.

To facilitate a mass exodus, authorities would close certain ramps onto Route 6, such as Exit 1 near the Christmas Tree Shops. This would give motorists a straight shot across the Sagamore Bridge without having to fight merging traffic, Domingos said.

The last major hurricane to batter Cape Cod was in August 1991 when Hurricane Bob hit Block Island as a Category 2 storm and surged up the coast. Peak wind gusts of 125 miles per hour were recorded in Brewster and North Truro and a 10- to 15-foot storm surge hit Buzzards Bay, according to the National Weather Service.

Posted by aryan at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)

Man's death in burning van seen as accidental

By Globe Staff

A man whose body was recovered from a burning van in Revere last night appears to have died accidentally, prosecutors said today.

Firefighters rushed to extinguish the burning blue van in a parking lot behind a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall at about 9:30 p.m..

State Police detectives were summoned out of concern that the case may have been a homicide. But the evidence they have gathered suggests that the fire was unintentional, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said in a statement.

State and Revere Police will continue their investigations until there is a conclusive determination of the cause and manner of the man’s death, prosecutors said.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)

Pay of professors at Mass. state colleges trails peers

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Professors at Massachusetts state colleges earn about $11,000 less annually on average than their peers in other states, a gap that threatens the public system's competitive standing, according to a study released today.

The average salary of professors at the state's four-year public colleges in 2007 trailed the national average by about 13 percent, the independent survey found. The disparity was sharper in certain fields, such as biology and business administration and management.

"These disturbing numbers call into question the state colleges' ability to compete for the best teachers and scholars," Robert Antonucci, president of Fitchburg State College, said in a statement. "If we don't close the gap quickly, we are going to face more and more problems recruiting and retaining top-notch faculty."

State college professors earned an average of $76,400, compared to $87,600 nationally. Associate professors earned just over $63,000, or $9,000 less than their peers. Assistant professors, who made $55,000, trailed the national average by $5,000.

"This issue goes beyond equity to the wider question of the economic competitiveness of Massachusetts," said Peter Alcock, a member of the Board of Higher Education. "How can we continue to compete for the best faculty to educate our students and future workforce when we don’t pay them what they're worth?”

Faculty salaries have lagged behind the national average for several years. In an effort to attract junior faculty, state colleges have increased the wages of new associate and assistant professors, but have not followed suit with veteran professors.

The study, conducted by Sibson Consulting, surveyed professors at Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Framingham, Salem, Westfield, and Worcester state colleges, and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. The Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design were not included because of their specific focus.

Faculty wages were compared to those at 37 colleges in other industrial states. About 74,000 students attend the state's nine public colleges.

Posted by rgreene at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2008

Coast Guard spot check of containers finds zero violations

By Globe Staff

Coast Guard officials said today that they were encouraged when a surprise spot check last week of more than 100 shipping containers found no safety or security violations.

The Coast Guard and nearly two dozen other federal, state, and local agencies worked together Thursday to make the inspections at four sites in the Boston area: weigh stations north and south of the city on Interstate 95, the Brighton Rail Yard, and the Conley Marine Terminal.

Inspectors opened 105 containers to ensure the contents, ranging from washing machines to treated cow hides, were packaged, loaded, and documented properly, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The operation also was an opportunity for the Coast Guard to practice working with some of its partner agencies, said Petty Officer Lauren Jorgensen, a Coast Guard spokeswoman

Posted by mfinucane at 5:21 PM | Comments (0)

Eight injured in Topsfield crash

By Matt Collette and Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondents

Eight people were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries this afternoon after a truck driver failed to stop for traffic in Topsfield and rear-ended the car in front of him, causing a chain reaction that damaged the truck and five other vehicles, police said.

The driver, 21-year-old Paul Lovasco of Beverly, was driving a Moynihan Lumber box truck southbound on Route 1 and did not stop for traffic at the road’s intersection with Route 97, said Sergeant Richard LeBel of the Topsfield Police.

Both lanes of Route 1 were closed for about an hour following the 1:36 p.m. accident as authorities cleaned up the accident scene, police said.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:04 PM | Comments (0)

Lawyer: 'The Cheese Man' talked tough, but never hurt anybody

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Reputed New England Mafia underboss Carmen "The Cheese Man'' DiNunzio may have allegedly been caught on an FBI tape delivering a bribe to secure a Big Dig contract and threatening to throw an associate off a roof, but he never actually hurt anyone, his lawyer argued in federal court today.

Carmen DiNunzio

"Don't take him by his words, take him by his actions,'' said Boston attorney Anthony Cardinale, arguing that DiNunzio, who owns a cheese shop in Boston's North End, isn't dangerous and should be released on bail while awaiting trial on a federal charge of conspiracy to commit bribery. DiNunzio and two associates are accused of a scheme that paid a $10,000 bribe in September 2006 to an undercover FBI agent posing as a corrupt state official in a bid to secure a $6 million contract to provide 300,000 cubic yards of loam to the Big Dig.

Cardinale portrayed DiNunzio, 50, of East Boston, as a harmless person, who refused to retaliate against the undercover agent after the deal fell apart and he kept DiNunzio's money.

A longtime associate of DiNunzio's, who was secretly cooperating with the FBI during the bribery sting, tried to goad DiNunzio, Cardinale said. The longtime associate told DiNunzio that the undercover agent was laughing at him and, according to Cardinale, he told the reputed mobster, "You're an idiot. You're all done. You're not getting your money back.''

Yet, even then, Cardinale said, "Nothing happens.''

Assistant US Attorney Peter K. Levitt argued that DiNunzio and his co-defendant, Anthony D'Amore, 55, a convicted drug dealer and reputed mob associate from Revere, should be held without bail until the case is resolved because they might try to harm the cooperating witness, who has not been identified in court, and are a danger to the public. The third man charged in the case, Andrew Marino, 42, of Chelmsford, who owns a small trucking company, was released on bail May 2.

During today's hearing, Levitt played an FBI tape of a Sept. 27, 2006, meeting in which D'Amore told the cooperating witness that after he made money on the loam deal he planned to give DiNunzio $50,000 to share among a group of convicted mobsters who have served years in prison and are about to be released.

"Listen, there's a bunch of nice guys coming home,'' said D'Amore, according to the tape. He mentioned Vinnie Federico, who was one of four soldiers who pricked their trigger fingers, burned holy cards, and pledged to kill for the Mafia during an induction ceremony in Medford in October 1989 that was secretly bugged by the FBI.

Attorney William Fick, who works for the Federal Defender's office and was appointed to represent D'Amore, argued that his client was just showing "empathy'' for men who came out with nothing after serving years in prison.

US Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein took the request for bail under advisement.

Posted by aryan at 3:50 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick announces increase in funding for youth summer jobs

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today announced a 27 percent increase in money for summer jobs, boosting funding for the youth program to $5.6 million, which includes an additional $151,000 for Boston.

"With warm weather approaching and schools letting out, it's absolutely imperative that we offer constructive alternatives to guns, gangs, and violence," Patrick said at a news conference. "Communities cannot be secured through policing alone."

The governor appeared with three Boston teenagers who said jobs they worked through the YouthWorks summer job programs helped them stay out of trouble.

"There are young men out there who want to do something with their life and be productive citizens," said Jelani Lynch, an 18-year-old from the South End.

Along with the increased funding, the governor said he was directing agencies to coordinate their education, employment, and social services for youth with a focus on hotspots for violence and gang activity "where young people are especially vulnerable."

YouthWorks supplements private funding to pay wages of at-risk young people in summer jobs in 25 cities and towns in the state. It is directed by the quasi-private Commonwealth Corporation, which passes the funding through to local workforce investment boards.

Posted by aryan at 3:36 PM | Comments (0)

No charges to be filed against Arlington state senator

By Globe Staff

Middlesex County prosecutors said today that state Senator James Marzilli will not face charges for an incident last month in which a woman claimed that he had touched her inappropriately.

State Senator James Marzilli

Prosecutors said they conducted an investigation after police were summoned to an Arlington home in the early hours of April 6 and a woman alleged that Marzilli had touched her "inappropriately against her will."

Prosecutors said the investigation had included "multiple interviews" with the woman and additional witnesses who had seen her and Marzilli at a fund-raising event earlier that evening.

"Based on this investigation, it has been determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt against Mr. Marzilli in this case," the Middlesex district attorney's office said in statement.

Terrence Kennedy, Marzilli’s lawyer, said his client was grateful to prosecutors for conducting a “fair and thorough investigation.”

He said the decision not to prosecute “is exactly what the senator expected because he knew he was innocent of any wrongdoing.”

Marzilli, 49, of Arlington has been one of the leading liberal voices on Beacon Hill for nearly two decades, first as a state representative and more recently as a state senator.

He beat out three other Democrats in a primary Nov. 13 to fill the seat vacated by former Senator Robert A. Havern. He won a special general election in December.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:57 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick scales back plan to fix bridges

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/file)

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today announced a $3 billion bond proposal to repair 250 to 300 deteriorating bridges throughout the state over the next eight years, a project that will pump money into the Massachusetts economy but one that is also 25 percent less ambitious than his original proposal.

"This program will make our bridges safer and create thousands of jobs and long-term economic benefits along the way," Patrick said in a statement. "By investing today, we will complete more bridge projects in less time and at a lower cost.”

The announcement is the culmination of weeks of negotiations between Patrick and State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who opposed the governor’s original plan, saying it was too costly. Last month, the governor floated a $3.8 billion bond proposal to repair 411 bridges.

Fixing bridges has been a perennial problem in Massachusetts, which has one of the oldest transportation infrastructures in the nation, with 200 bridges that were built in the 19th century.

The Globe reported in August that approximately 10 percent of the 5,500 bridges in Massachusetts are classified under federal standards as "structurally deficient," including 65 well-traveled bridges with such serious defects that they may need to be replaced. The Longfellow Bridge over the Charles River is among the most high-profile of the spans, as well as the Merrimack River bridges in Haverhill and the bridge that carries the Fitchburg commuter rail over Route 62 in Concord.

The Pioneer Institute last year released a report titled "Our Legacy of Neglect," documenting a lack of funding for transportation infrastructure in Massachusetts.

There are 543 structurally deficient bridges right now, according to state officials, but that figure grows each year.

Posted by aryan at 2:54 PM | Comments (0)

Federal report: Danvers 2006 explosion could have been prevented

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/file/2006)

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

DANVERS -- The 2006 Danversport factory explosion that destroyed a neighborhood here could have been prevented if one company involved had better safeguards inside its facility, according to a US Chemical Safety Board report released today.

Federal investigators noted in a draft of their final report that the explosion highlighted gaps in state and federal safety regulations that must be fixed to prevent future catastrophes. The Nov. 22 detonation at ink maker CAI Inc. has been called a Thanksgiving miracle because no one was killed or seriously injured.

(Bill Greene/ Globe Staff)/file/2006

William Wright, a safety board member, said that CAI should have had an alarm and automated safeguards to prevent explosions, as opposed to its manual operation that left it vulnerable to the mistakes of employees.

"We found an underlying cause was CAI's failure to conduct a hazard analysis or other systematic review to ensure flammable liquids were safely handled during the manufacturing process,'' Wright said in a written statement. "Without safeguards, it is likely that a small but foreseeable human error led to disaster.''

The safety board also released an 11-minute video today that includes actual footage of the fire; audio recordings of 911 calls; computer simulations of the explosion; interviews with local residents; and a step-by-step reenactment of what caused the blast. To watch the video, click here.

The safety board will discuss its findings and recommendations at a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Ferncroft Resort in Danvers. At the meeting, the board will vote whether to formally adopt the report as its final say on the 2006 explosion.

W. Paul Needham, the attorney for CAI, said today that a company investigation that relies on computer modeling of the blast reached a completely different conclusion.

“The studies show it could not have happened the way the CSB says,” Needham said. He refused to provide specifics, citing the ongoing litigation between CAI and affected property owners and insurance carriers in the neighborhood.

The plant was jointly operated by CAI Inc. and specialty paint maker Arnel, Inc. The safety board singled out CAI for causing the explosion because a worker turned off the ventilation system while a vat of volatile chemicals was being heated. Needham said the CAI employee identified by federal investigators is adamant that he turned off the heat when he left the building at the end of his shift.

The safety board determined that explosive vapors collected inside the Water Street building and detonated at 2:46 a.m. The blast destroyed 16 homes and three businesses and forced the evacuation of 300 people.

State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan proposed legislation earlier this year to add chemical manufacturing inspectors to his department and to train local fire departments on how to properly inspect companies that use chemicals in their plants.

Posted by aryan at 1:00 PM | Comments (0)

School van driver charged with sex assault on passenger

By Globe Staff

A 40-year-old school van driver from Roslindale is facing charges that include kidnapping and aggravated rape after allegedly assaulting an elementary school girl he was driving home from school, police said.

Israel Santiago allegedly assaulted the victim at 3 p.m. Friday in a parking lot at Larz Anderson Park. Santiago was driving the victim home in his YCN transportation van, Brookline police said in a statement.

Santiago, who also faces charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, was to be arraigned today in Brookline Municipal Court. Police said they were looking into whether Santiago had assaulted the victim in the past.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

High winds stop Nantucket ferries, topple large tree in Hyde Park

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Donna Ricci peered out from her back porch in Hyde Park this morning at a large maple tree that fell in high wind.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour forced the cancellation of ferries to Nantucket this morning and downed a towering 40-foot Norway Maple in Hyde Park.

At 8:30 a.m., Donna Ricci said, she heard a crash, felt the ground shake, and looked outside to see that a massive tree had fallen, knocking down three telephone poles, several wires, and part of her fence.

“If it had fallen the other way, it would have destroyed half my house,” said Ricci, who lives on Mount Ash Street. “Oh, I’m just so thankful.”

The tree, which was at least one story higher than Ricci’s two-floor colonial, fell onto Cleveland Street and landed between two other homes, slightly damaging a car across the street. Workers from the Boston Parks and Recreation Department chopped up the tree and hauled it away. Police closed the road for 20 minutes while the live power lines were on the ground, a spokesman said.

Winds were a “little gusty this morning,” blowing 30 to 40 miles per hour in Boston and up to 45 miles per hour on Nantucket, said Alan Dunham, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton. The breezes are the byproduct of a large storm that passed south of New England Monday night.

The wind forced the Steamship Authority to cancel all of its ferries today between Nantucket and Hyannis. Ferries are running to Martha’s Vineyard.

An NStar spokesman said only a handful of customers lost power in Hyde Park. Utility crews are working to repair the damage. Ricci said she was told that power would be restored sometime this evening, but that won’t help this summer when the sun comes out.

“Now we’ll have no shade in our back yard,” Ricci said.

Posted by aryan at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

Danvers blast video shows residents' narrow escape

By Globe Staff

The enormous fireball erupted high into the night sky, sending flames above the trees and homes in Danversport. Shards of flying glass shot into the bedroom of David Marcou on Bates Street, striking him in the back of the neck as he slept. The blast blew the frame from his sliding glass door out of the wall and impaled it in the ceiling above his bed.

“I just remember being on my feet and looking around and thinking, ‘Wow, it’s really windy in this room,’” said Marcou, sitting on a front stoop in a video interview with federal investigators. “All I could see was fire in front of me. It was so hot and intense that I could feel it right on my face.”

Marcou escaped that night with only cuts and bruises, protected in part from the flying glass by the heavy comforter he pulled over himself that cold evening. An 11-minute video released today by the US Chemical Safety Board underscores how fortunate it was that Marcou and other Danversport residents were not killed in the factory explosion on Nov. 22, 2006.

The video posted above includes actual footage of the fire; audio recordings of 911 calls; computer simulations of the blast that upended the bedroom of Marcou and others; interviews with local residents; and a step-by-step reenactment of what caused the blast. Be patient, the video may take a few moments to load.

Posted by jtuohey at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2008

UMass chief supports stripping Mugabe of honorary degree

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson announced his support for rescinding an honorary degree to Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who is facing international scorn for his regime's bloody campaign against political opponents.

Responding to calls from a key state lawmaker, Wilson recommended that the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees strip the law degree Mugabe received from UMass Amherst in 1986.

“In the two decades that have passed since the honorary degree was awarded, Robert Mugabe has pursued policies and taken actions that are antithetical to the values and beliefs of the University of Massachusetts,” Wilson said in a statement. “I must recommend that we sever the connection that was formed when Robert Mugabe appeared to be a force for positive change in Africa. Today, that promise no longer exists.”

Last June, trustees voted to rebuke Mugabe for policies and practices that have “brought worldwide scorn” on him, but stopped short of revoking the doctoral degree.

The 22-member board, which has never rescinded an honorary degree, meets June 12 at UMass Lowell.

Trustee James J. Karam said he supports stripping Mugabe of the degree, and said universities should be cautious in awarding honorary degrees to international politicians.

"Many times, today's patriot is tomorrow's terrorist," he said.

In a recent letter to Wilson, Representative Kevin J. Murphy, House chairman of the Joint Committee on Higher Education, denounced Mugabe as "an affliction on the people of Zimbabwe."

"It is reprehensible that Robert Mugabe enjoys the same honor our university bestowed upon luminaries such as Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, and Toni Morrison," Murphy said.

Last year, the University of Edinburgh in Scotland rescinded an honorary degree it had awarded Mugabe, and students at Michigan State University, which awarded Mugabe a degree in 1990, have unsuccessfully pressed officials there to do the same. Michigan State has a strong exchange program with the University of Zimbabwe.

Posted by rgreene at 5:03 PM | Comments (0)

Coast Guard searching for missing lobsterman

By Matt Collette

The Coast Guard is searching for Christopher Tobey, the 46-year-old owner of a lobster boat that capsized off the coast of New Hampshire yesterday.

The 44-foot lobster boat, Sav-a-buck, based in Kittery, Maine, was reported missing at 10 a.m. by Tobey's daughter.

The boat was found partially submerged near Isle of Shoals off the coast of Portsmouth, N.H., said Petty Officer Third Class Connie Terrell, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

Tobey’s 16-year-old son and a third crewmember were located earlier today on nearby Duck Island. The two spent the night there and had built a fire to keep warm, said Terrell. Their condition is unknown.

The water is 48 degrees today, Terrell said. It is unknown whether Tobey was wearing a life jacket or if he had other protective equipment.

The Coast Guard is using a ship and helicopter to search for Tobey. The capsized boat remains partially submerged off Isle of Shoals

Tobey’s daughter reported her father, brother, and the third crewmember missing at 10 this morning. The boat was scheduled to return at 5 last night and had been out since 10 that morning.

Posted by jpeter at 4:38 PM | Comments (0)

Boston man arraigned in connection with Jamaica Plain murder

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A Boston man faces murder charges after allegedly stabbing his roommate in their Jamaica Plain home last night, authorities said.

Fifty-two-year-old Kim John Gaines was at the scene when police arrived at 6:53 p.m. and was arrested on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after allegedly stabbing his roommate numerous times, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney.

The victim is an Asian male between the ages of 25 and 40 who authorities have not identified further because they have not been able to contact his next of kin.

The charges against Gaines were upgraded to murder after the victim died of his injuries at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at 8:05 p.m.

Circumstances surrounding the stabbing were not immediately clear.

Gaines pled not guilty in his arraignment today at West Roxbury District Court.

Judge Kathleen Coffey ordered Gaines held without bail. He will return to court on June 24.

Posted by jpeter at 1:59 PM | Comments (0)

DiMasi attempts to defend his reputation in letter

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi has sent an impassioned letter to legislators, defending himself against recent news articles and complaints from the Republican Party that he allegedly violated the state's conflict-of-interest law by advancing legislation that helped his friends.

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi

"I am outraged that my reputation, my integrity and my good name have been called into question," said DiMasi, in the two-page letter. "I have followed the rules and laws by which we are governed ... I have never strayed and will never stray from these principles."

DiMasi suggested his problems are the result of the "conduct or actions of others.”

“As elected officials, we in the Legislature are all subject to the unfortunate inclination of others to use our name without our knowledge or authorization," he wrote.

Last week, his longtime friend and accountant Richard D. Vitale registered as a lobbyist after the Globe wrote that he was hired by a group of ticket brokers to push legislation that would benefit their industry. However, Vitale, who had also given DiMasi a $250,000 line of credit secured by a third mortgage on his Commercial Street condo, did not list the Massachusetts Association of Ticket Brokers as a client. He listed no clients and no payments.

Richard D. Vitale

A DiMasi spokeswoman last week said DiMasi had recently repaid the loan.

The GOP has also asked the state attorney general to investigate allegations that House members are asking colleagues to vote for them when they are not present. The Boston Herald reported last month that Representative Charles Murphy, a Burlington Democrat, was in the Virgin Islands two weeks ago when he was recorded taking seven roll call votes in the House chamber.

In the last two months, the Republican Party has filed four state Ethics Commission complaints against DiMasi. In addition to the complaint about the speaker’s relationship with Vitale, Republicans asked the commission to investigate whether DiMasi might have violated the state conflict-of-interest law by attempting to steer a controversial, multimillion dollar contract to Cognos, a Canadian software company with its US headquarters in Burlington.

They also asked the commission to determine if DiMasi accepted a free golf game from Joseph O'Donnell, one of the owners of Suffolk Downs, who was looking to operate a resort casino on the grounds of the East Boston racetrack.

DiMasi has denied acting on behalf of Cognos. With regards to playing golf with O'Donnell, DiMasi has said that he and O'Donnell were longtime friends, and that DiMasi offered to pay O'Donnell for the golf at the time of the outing, and he has since reimbursed him for it. In an interview with the Globe last week, DiMasi said he had no idea Vitale was working on ticket broker legislation pending in the House.

The Globe published a story last week about DiMasi’s relationship with Jay Cashman and a bill that was killed that would have blocked a controversial liquefied natural project in Fall River. Cashman sold the terminal developers 73 acres and made a $14.2 million profit, according to a Globe review of real estate and legislative records.

Posted by aryan at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)

Menino pedals to kickoff Bike Week

By Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino purchased a silver Trek road bike last year and began taking rides each weekday at 5 a.m., pedaling through his Hyde Park neighborhood in the predawn quiet.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino

The four-term Democrat is taking his bicycle habit public today when he will lead city employees and cyclists on a short ride to kick off "Mayor Menino's Bay State Bike Week." Setting off from City Hall Plaza, the cycling enthusiasts will bike roughly 1/5 of a mile to Post Office Square.

Bike Week includes a 50,000-mile commuter challenge; free breakfast for cyclists on their way to work; and a "goodie zone" where riders can get free water bottles and more. For a complete list of events and details, click here.

Posted by aryan at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)

Woman denies setting fatal South Boston fire

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Nicole Chuminski adamantly denies setting a fire in a South Boston rowhouse last month that killed two young sisters and witnesses will exonerate her of murder and arson charges, her lawyer said today in court.

Nicole Chuminski

Through a romantic relationship with the girls' mother, Chuminski got to know 14-year-old Acia Johnson and her 3-year-old sister, Sophia, and would have never done anything to harm them, according to her attorney, William White.

"She has never wavered in the love she felt for those children," White said during his client's arraignment in South Boston Municipal Court.

Chuminski, her eyes red with tears, pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one count of arson. She was ordered held on $1 million cash bail.

Sophia, 3, and Acia Johnson, 14

The girls' mother, Anna Reisopoulos, 34, glared at Chuminski during the hearing, giving her former lover cold stares through eyes rimmed with tears. Chuminski was arrested Friday for a crime that police and prosecutors allege stemmed from a bitter lovers' quarrel. Chuminski had been dating Reisopoulos for about four months before the fire, set in the early morning hours of April 6, authorities said on Friday. The sisters died from burns and smoke inhalation in a third-floor closet, where their remains were found.

David Fredette, an assistant Suffolk district attorney, said in court today that Chuminski and Reisopoulos had attended a wedding of one of Chuminski's relatives in Weymouth in the hours before the fire and got into a heated exchange when Chuminski accused Reisopoulos of stealing a wallet from one of her relatives.

Chuminski allegedly struck Reisopoulos, Fredette said. Later, witnesses saw Chuminski outside Reisopoulos's West Sixth Street home, yelling and banging on the door, he said. Investigators believe that after they returned to Boston, Chuminski went to Reisopoulos's house about 3 a.m., doused it with an unidentified accelerant, and ignited it, according to two public safety officials briefed on the investigation.

Fredette said that when she set the fire, Chuminski knew the house was occupied and gave no regard for the other families living in the adjoining rowhouses.

“These acts were not only cruel but cowardly in the way that they were done,” Fredette said.

The fire quickly swept through the house and up into the attic, trapping the girls, who had been sleeping, said the officials, who spoke to the Globe Friday on condition of anonymity.

Conley said investigators were able to match accelerant from the fire scene with traces of an accelerant found on Chuminski's clothes after the fire. That evidence, combined with witness statements and testimony before a grand jury, was enough to warrant Chuminski's arrest, Conley said.

Police questioned Chuminski for several hours the day of the fire but did not have enough evidence to arrest her at that time, according to the two public safety officials.

Reisopoulos was hospitalized for more than a week after the fire, but recovered. Her son, Raymond Johnson Jr., Acia's twin, also survived.

Reisopoulos said Friday night that she was grateful that police had made an arrest in the fire. "It's still not enough because my daughters are not here," she said.

Since the fire, Reisopoulos said, she has been staying with friends and living in fear, afraid that Chuminski might try to kill her. Reisopoulos took out a restraining order against her on Monday after Chuminski left repeated messages on her cellphone voicemail.

In the order, filed in South Boston District Court, Reisopoulos blamed Chuminski for the deaths of her children, saying she "came to my home at about 3 and threw a Molotov bomb at my house at 154 West Sixth Street, setting it on fire and killing my 2 daughters Acia age 14 and Sophia age 3."

The order identifies Chuminski as her romantic partner and bars Chuminski from having any contact with Reisopoulos or her son.

If convicted, Chuminski could face life in prison on each murder charge and up to 20 years on the arson charge.

Posted by aryan at 9:53 AM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2008

Four hurt in crash on I-93 in Randolph

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

RANDOLPH -- Four people were injured early this morning in a chain reaction accident on Interstate 93 south involving five vehicles, police said.

The southbound lanes of I-93 between Routes 28 and 24 were closed for more than an hour after the 2:20 a.m. crash, said Trooper Eric Benson, a State Police spokesman.

Four people were taken to area hospitals, including one who had been thrown out a car, but the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Benson said.

The accident happened after a vehicle merging from Route 28 onto the highway struck another vehicle in the middle lane, Benson said. Both spun into the left lane and were hit by a third vehicle. As the occupants of the third vehicle were getting out of their car, it was struck by a fourth, throwing a passenger from the third car into the road.

The fourth vehicle then spun into the middle lane and hit a fifth vehicle, Benson said.

The southbound lanes of the highway were reopened at around 3:30 a.m.

Posted by dyee at 4:32 AM | Comments (0)

May 9, 2008

Boston Police say 911 address glitch has been corrected

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Boston police and a phone company said today they had corrected 911 problems that sent officers to the wrong neighborhood to investigate a homicide.

Appearing before a Boston City Council committee, Superindent in Chief Robert Dunford and David Green, an official from Comcast, both said the software glitch had been fixed.

On March 9, a woman called 911 to report a slaying and gave police the address of 698 Washington St. Police went to that address in Downtown Crossing first before arriving at the proper address in Dorchester 14 minutes after being called.

Green said the incident highlighted a software glitch that has since been corrected. Some Comcast phone customers were listed only as living in "Boston" when the database should have listed the names of specific neighborhoods.

"We have taken steps'' to update the software, he said.

City Councilor Charles Yancey, while saying public safety officials generally perform their tasks well, called the handling of the call "abysmal.''

"I don't understand how that could happen in the 21st century with all of our technology,'' Yancey said.

The March incident was one of two recent emergency call snafus that have embarrassed the department.

In April, police arrived at the home of a Hyde Park man 35 minutes after police were told he had been attacked and was bleeding. Dunford said the dispatcher who took the call wrongly listed it as low-priority. The department is retraining calltakers and increasing supervision in response, he said.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:40 PM | Comments (0)

Lynn school locked down after gunshots reported in area

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A report of shots being fired forced a lockdown of Lynn Classical High School, Lynn Police said today.

At 2:45 p.m., police responded to O’Callahan Way and Holyoke Street, about a block away from the school, to investigate the incident.

There was no report of anyone being shot, police said in a statement. The suspect fled the area in a red SUV. Police did not release further information on the suspect or the vehicle.

The lockdown at the school ended at 4:30 p.m. and students were dismissed from school.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:15 PM | Comments (0)

Patriots player charged with drug possession ordered to perform community service

By Globe Staff

New England Patriots player Willie Andrews, who was allegedly found with a half pound of marijuana and more than $6,800 in cash during a traffic stop in Lowell in February, has been ordered by a judge to perform community service and complete a substance abuse treatment program.

Lowell District Court Judge Neil Walker ordered Andrews's case continued without a finding for a year, which means that if he complies with conditions set by the judge for that period the charges will be dropped, the Middlesex district attorney's office said today.

Andrews, 24, who was charged with possession of a Class D substance, will have to perform 100 hours of community service by speaking to Lowell student-athletes about the dangers of narcotics, pay a $1,000 fine, and complete an NFL substance abuse treatment program. If Andrews leaves the league, he must report to probation and submit to drug testing, prosecutors said in a statement.

The hard-hitting special teams player was arrested Feb. 5 on Duren Avenue in Lowell after officers pulled over a vehicle and smelled what they believed was a strong odor of marijuana.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

February's incident wasn't the first brush with the law for Andrews. In 2002, he was arrested and charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon. Already on probation for criminal mischief at the time, he served 30 days in jail before starting his freshman year at Baylor University in Texas.

He seemed to rebound in college, staying out of trouble, setting multiple school records as a return specialist, and starting every game his final three seasons there. He was an All-American candidate in 2004. He was a seventh-round draft pick for the Patriots in 2006.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:29 PM | Comments (0)

Truck driver charged after Allston crashes

By Globe Staff

Police today charged a man with driving to endanger and other violations after he allegedly smashed his delivery truck into eight parked motor vehicles Thursday in Allston before it burst into flames.

Timothy Newton, 38, of Revere, had twice had his driver's license suspended for excessive traffic citations, according to state Registry of Motor Vehicles records and police. But his license was reinstated in July 2007 after he completed a mandatory safe driver course.

Newton and two other people were treated for minor injuries after the trail of crashes on Commonwealth Avenue, which snarled morning rush-hour traffic and forced the MBTA to use shuttle buses while one branch of the Green Line was halted for about four hours.

Ann Dufresne, a spokeswoman for the Registry of Motor Vehicles, said Newton's license had been revoked at the request of the Boston Police, who determined that he was an "immediate threat." The revocation will last indefinitely, she said.

Newton was driving a box truck with medical supplies for New England Delivery Inc. of Wilmington. Company officials have declined to comment.

What triggered the crash and fire remained under investigation by Boston police. A police source told the Globe Thursday that Newton blacked out just before the first crash.

According to police and fire officials, Newton was driving westbound on Commonwealth, at the intersection of Babcock Street, when he smashed into five parked vehicles. One collision pushed a pickup onto the Green Line tracks.

Newton kept driving down Commonwealth and hit three vehicles near the intersection of Brighton Avenue. The first car, a 1995 Suzuki, was pushed onto the sidewalk and severely damaged.

The second, a 2006 Range Rover, was pushed into the plate glass window of a commercial office building.

With a third car, a Lexus, lodged in front of it, the truck was driven down Brighton Avenue, where the Lexus exploded into flames, witnesses said. That fire ignited Newton's truck, sending flames 30 feet into the air, and creating a heat so intense the vehicles were welded, officials said.

Firefighters extinguished the fire and briefly treated the scene as a hazardous materials incident. Officials said minimal amounts of automotive fluids leaked into sewers and were not expected to significantly affect the environment.

Posted by aryan at 4:43 PM | Comments (0)

Suffolk DA: Lover's quarrel preceded fatal South Boston fire

By Donovan Slack and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The girlfriend of the mother of two young sisters killed in a South Boston fire was arrested today on murder and arson charges.

Sophia, 3, and Acia Johnson, 14

Nicole Chuminski, 25, was arrested earlier this afternoon in Lowell and charged with the deaths of Acia Johnson, 14, and her 3-year-old sister, Sophia. Chuminski is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in South Boston District Court on two counts of murder and one count of arson.

The sisters died of smoke inhalation and burns when a fire swept through their West Sixth Street home on April 6. Investigators have determined that the fire was started near the front door and quickly spread through the single-family rowhouse. The sisters huddled in a third-floor closet and were trapped under debris.

After a bitter lover’s quarrel, Chuminski “deliberately and maliciously” set her girlfriend’s house on fire, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said at a news conference this afternoon. “That fire spread rapidly, soon engulfing the entire building,” he said.

Conley declined to provide details about the argument or any other events that led up to the fire. He said investigators were able to match an accelerant found at the fire scene with residue on Chuminski’s clothes after the fire.

Today’s arrest in Lowell was the result of that physical evidence, interviews with witnesses, and testimony before a grand jury that was convened last month. Conley said the grand jury is still hearing evidence and the investigation is continuing.

What has been uncovered so far, however, was enough to warrant today’s arrest, he said.

“Much work remains to be done,” Conley said. “Today we have reached a milestone, however, and we know the day is near when we will speak in court for two young children were tragically, senselessly taken, and who died with only each other to cling to in their final moments.”

The girls' mother, Anna Reisopoulos, was hospitalized after the blaze with critical injuries and released more than a week later.

Posted by aryan at 4:25 PM | Comments (0)

Students warned to be vigilant after attack in Harvard Yard

By Globe Staff

Police at Harvard University are warning students to be careful when they walk through campus and surrounding areas, both day and night, after a female student was attacked early Tuesday in Harvard Yard by a man who put a wire around her neck.

Police said in an e-mail crime alert to students this week that the victim had reported an "assault and battery" at about 1:40 a.m. in the Yard -- the college quad just off Harvard Square -- near Houghton Library by the stairs going down toward Pusey Library.

In a log entry posted on the university police website, police wrote that the unidentified student was "approached from behind by an unknown individual who then placed a wire around their neck. The reporting party stated that they pulled the wire away and kicked the individual.''

In the e-mail to students, police recommended that students take appropriate precautions, such as walking in groups and using the university shuttle bus, van service, and walking escort program.

Police also warned students not to become oblivious of their surroundings by talking on cellphones or listening to music.

"If you suspect you are being followed, stay away from dimly lit areas and head for a store or building that you know to be open. Trust your instincts. If you feel uncomfortable about someone near you, head for a populated area and call the Harvard University Police Department," police said.

University spokesman Robert Mitchell didn't immediately have a comment this afternoon.

Posted by jellement at 4:08 PM | Comments (0)

No bail for defendants in Luis Gerena slaying

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

Two teenagers were ordered held without bail today after being arraigned in Roxbury District Court on murder charges in the January 2007 slaying of 13-year-old Luis Gerena.

A Suffolk County prosecutor said that Nurudeen Alabi, 19, and Darrell Rodrigues, 17, both of Roxbury, were gang members who encountered Gerena as he left the Jackson Square MBTA station on Jan. 12, 2007.

Alabi and Rodrigues asked Gerena, who lived in Jamaica Plain, if he belonged to a rival gang and then demanded his cellphone, telling him to “Hurry up, dog,” said prosecutor Mark Hallal.

The prosecutor said Gerena was then shot at least five times, the bullets piercing his kidney, liver, and heart.

As Hallal described Gerena’s death, the boy’s mother, Wendy Jiminian, began sobbing uncontrollably and had to be escorted out of the courtroom. Supporters of the defendants sat silently and stoically.

Defense attorneys for Alabi and Rodriguez, who also face firearms charges, asked the judge if they could argue for bail at a later date when they had more time to prepare their cases.

At least two dozen friends and relatives attended the hearing to seek justice for Gerena, whose death sent shock waves through the community.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:23 PM | Comments (0)

Corrections commissioner opposes sex-change surgery for inmate

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

The new commissioner of the state's prison system says he strongly opposes allowing a convicted killer to have a state-funded sex-change operation, saying it would create "insurmountable" safety and security problems.

A month after telling reporters that he would reexamine the federal lawsuit by Michelle Kosilek seeking the operation, Harold Clarke, director of the Department of Correction, has adopted a position similar to that of his predecessor, Kathleen Dennehy.

In papers filed in federal court Wednesday, Clarke said Kosilek would pose an escape risk if the inmate underwent surgery out of state. He also said the inmate could not be placed, after surgery, at MCI-Framingham, the state's prison for women, because Kosilek would likely threaten female inmates and be assaulted by them.

"I do not question the sincerity of Michelle Kosilek's belief that sex reassignment surgery may reduce any anxiety caused by a gender identity disorder," Clarke wrote in a three-page memorandum. "However, based on my review of the designated trial testimony and my many years of experience as a corrections professional, I believe that the safety and security concerns presented by the prospect of undertaking sex reassignment surgery for Michelle Kosilek are insurmountable."

The prisoner born as Robert Kosilek strangled his wife, Cheryl, in Mansfield in 1990 and fled to New York State. He legally changed his name to Michelle in 1993 and has been living as a woman in an all-male prison in Norfolk. Kosilek is serving a life sentence.

Joseph L. Sulman, one of the lawyers representing Kosilek at no charge, said today he was disappointed in Clarke's position but looked forward to questioning the commissioner in court Monday.

US Chief District Judge Mark L. Wolf asked Clarke to testify in the latest chapter of Kosilek's legal campaign for a sex change.

In 2002, Wolf ruled that prison officials had failed to adequately treat Kosilek's gender identity disorder, but he stopped short of ordering the state to permit the surgery. Wolf found that the department had not violated Kosilek's Eighth Amendment rights prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment because the prisoner did not prove that the correction commissioner had shown "deliberate indifference" to Kosilek's medical needs.

Kosilek, 58, sued again in 2005, saying the hormone treatments, laser hair removal, and psychotherapy she has received since Wolf's 2002 ruling were insufficient to address her anxiety and depression.

For the past year, Wolf has been weighing whether to order the state to allow the surgery. Medical specialists who have testified for Kosilek, as well as several doctors hired by the prison system's health provider, have said they believe surgery is medically necessary for Kosilek, who has twice attempted suicide in prison. Other specialists hired by the department have disputed that assessment.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:23 PM | Comments (0)

Friend of DiMasi registers as lobbyist

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

A close friend of House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi who helped the state's ticket brokers push favorable legislation through the House last year has registered as a lobbyist with the secretary of state's office.

Richard D. Vitale

Charlestown accountant Richard D. Vitale -- who had been under fire for never registering as required by state law -- this morning registered as a lobbyist for 2008, but listed no clients or payments from any clients, according to Secretary of State William Galvin's website.

Vitale did not register for 2007, when the ticket brokers won House approval of a bill that deregulated the ticket resale business by allowing ticket brokers to sell tickets for whatever price the market would bear.

"This is a significant development," said Galvin, whose office has also requested that the Massachusetts Association of Ticket Brokers, led by ACE Ticket Worldwide, also register as an employer of Vitale. So far that group has not filed, the secretary of state's office said.

A Globe story April 27 reported that the ticket brokers hired Vitale last year to work on their behalf, but he never registered as a lobbyist. The story said that, beyond their friendship, Vitale also gave DiMasi a $250,000 loan secured by a third mortgage on his North End condo in 2006. It is a violation of the state's conflict-of-interest law for a public official to accept an outright gift or something for less than market value from a lobbyist.

Vitale also has worked as DiMasi's accountant and has served as his campaign treasurer.

The state Republican Party has filed an Ethics Commission complaint against DiMasi, asking the commission to investigate Vitale's actions on behalf of ticket brokers and his financial relationship to the speaker.

Posted by aryan at 1:33 PM | Comments (0)

Student video wins prize for warning of prom driving danger

By Globe Staff

It's prom night, and the teenagers sway and shake to a driving beat. They drink beer, smoke a joint, and get into a car. The screen goes black -- and you hear the sound of a crash. Then come images of the aftermath and the faces of shocked and grieving friends.

That's the outline of the winning video submitted by Jamie Cloutier, a student at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School, in the state's "Dance. Don't Chance" contest, which was intended to highlight for teens the perils of dangerous driving. The video beat out 22 other submissions from schools statewide.

The award was announced yesterday at Bay Path in Charlton, where three students have died this year, including two in car crashes.

Sheila Burgess, director of highway safety for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said she believed that Bay Path students were moved to work on the project partly because of the deaths.

She said she thought the video, which is being played in numerous schools in the state on the in-school ChannelOne network as prom season gets underway, would "really hit home" with teenagers.

State officials say that 180 junior operators are suspended every week for reckless driving. Nationally, traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers, according to federal statistics.

Cloutier is a Southbridge senior who is in the graphic design program, officials said. Her prizes for winning the contest include non-alcoholic beverages for her entire class and free prom night transportation for 10.

Posted by mfinucane at 1:30 PM | Comments (0)

No environmental damage in Lawrence train yard chemical spill

By Globe Staff

The Department of Environmental Protection said today there is no lasting environmental damage from Thursday evening's derailment of a freight car that spilled sodium chlorate along the tracks in a Lawrence train yard owned by Pan Am Railways.

The DEP was among the state and city agencies responding to the spill that led to the evacuation of several homes near the Andover Street yard for about five hours Thursday night.

"There is no environmental impact of significance,'' from the spill, the DEP said today.

A spokeswoman for Pan Am Railways, Cynthia Scarano, said the accident was caused by a faulty switch plate on the track that is now under repair. The hopper car derailed and was struck by another car on another track, opening up an 8-by-10-foot hole. A trail of the chemical, some 2,300 feet long, was left in its wake.

An environmental cleanup crew hired by Pan Am Railways is expected to complete its work by noon, Scarano said. Sodium chlorate is used to make paper and fertilizer.

Posted by jellement at 9:42 AM | Comments (0)

May 8, 2008

Driver in Allston crashes had lost license -- twice

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By George Rizer, John R. Ellement, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

The driver of a delivery truck that careened down an Allston thoroughfare and smashed into eight vehicles before bursting into flames this morning has twice had his driver's license suspended for an excessive number of traffic citations, according to Registry of Motor Vehicles records.

The driver was identified by a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation as 38-year-old Timothy Newton of Revere. Registry records show that Newton, who got his license in the late 1980s, lost his license for 60 days in 1997 after a total of seven violations or accidents. He lost his license again in 2005 after five other incidents. He got his license back in July 2007 after completing a mandatory safe driver course for the second time.

The crashes on Commonwealth Avenue injured three people, snarled rush hour traffic through the busy Allston area, and forced the temporary shutdown of the B branch of the MBTA's Green Line for about four hours. A portion of nearby Brighton Avenue was still down to one lane late this afternoon so crews could clean up the fire scene.

Walter Moura was pressing pants at Kwik Time Cleaners on Commonwealth Avenue when he heard a loud bang and looked outside. He said he saw the delivery truck smash into a parked car and keep going, ramming into a Range Rover that was forced off the street and into a building. The truck kept going and burst into flames.

"There was smoke all over the place,” Moura said. “In just five seconds, it was all in flames. We wondered how the driver got out of it. It was so freaky. It was an ugly scene."

The flames were followed by four explosions that Moura said he assumed were from the tires and gas tank.

Firefighters responded and extinguished the blaze. A hazmat team was called to the scene and several nearby buildings were evacuated because the 18- to 24-foot box truck was carrying at least one flammable material, said Steven MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department. The manifest listing the truck's contents burned up in the fire so it was not immediately clear what was inside. There was not a significant chemical spill, but some automotive liquids did leak into the sewer system, MacDonald said.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

The truck was from New England Delivery Service, a Wilmington-based company that makes same-day and next-day deliveries for a wide range of businesses, from medical firms to home improvement centers, according to its website. A man who answered the phone at the company this morning declined to discuss the crashes.

The first crashes occurred shortly before 7:17 a.m. on Commonwealth Avenue near Babcock Street. The truck apparently hit a pickup truck and four cars, which were pushed up onto the sidewalk, witnesses and police said. The truck then rumbled on, continuing west.

About 200 yards down the avenue, near the Brighton Avenue intersection, the truck hit a parked car and the Range Rover and kept going, pushing the Range Rover down the street until it plowed through the glass windows of Comm. Ave. Associates, a realty office that was unoccupied at the time.

"There's glass all over the place,” said Michael Jardus, the company owner and president, who joked that his daughter wanted a Range Rover. "I called her and said ‘I got one delivered, but it's a little dented.' "

The delivery truck lurched forward and hit another unoccupied parked car before it finally came to rest on Brighton.

Posted by aryan at 6:27 PM | Comments (0)

Revere mayor fires police sergeant who fled scene of officer's slaying

By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff

REVERE -- A police sergeant who fled the scene after the fatal shooting of an officer last year, and then allegedly diverted an officer responding to the scene so he could get a ride home, was fired today by Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino.

Siding with a recommendation for dismissal from Police Chief Terence K. Reardon, Ambrosino terminated Sergeant Evan Franklin, 37, stating that his actions the night Officer Daniel Talbot was slain were a "breach of the most fundamental of police responsibilities."

"I have little doubt, as confirmed by Chief Reardon's testimony, that some police officers in our department would have difficulty working with, and under the leadership of, a superior officer who fled the scene, as Sergeant Franklin chose to do," Ambrosino wrote in his decision.

Ambrosino said it was Franklin's "conduct upon confronting the first responding unit, which justifies dismissal."

Franklin, who has been suspended with pay since the Sept. 29 shooting, will appeal the decision, said his Boston attorney Neil Rossman.

"I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised," Rossman said in a telephone interview. Franklin "is disappointed also. ... He knew it was coming, but he feels he's a victim of this situation also. Obviously not a victim who paid with his life, like Officer Talbot, but still a victim of what occurred that night."

Franklin, along with Officers William Soto, Stacey Bruzzese, and Talbot and Talbot's fiancee Connie Bethell, left a local restaurant, where they had dinner and drinks, on Sept. 29 before 1 a.m. and headed to Revere High School's baseball field to drink beers from a cooler in Soto's truck, Ambrosino's report said.

Half an hour later, the group exchanged words with a 17-year-old gang member, who allegedly left the scene but returned a short time later with other young men, including gang member Robert Iacoviello Jr., 20, who shot Talbot in the head. Four people have been charged in the case.

While Soto returned fire and Bruzzese protected Bethell, the unarmed Franklin fled the scene, Ambrosino said. Franklin's service weapon was inside Soto's truck, unsecured, a felony under state law.

Some distance later, Franklin came upon Officer Robert Impemba, who was responding to the shooting in his cruiser, and asked him for a ride home. Upon learning that Impemba was on his way to the shooting, Franklin got into the back seat and said, "All right then, just bring me to Broadway," according to a statement by Impemba. Franklin did not tell Impemba he'd just been at the scene of the shooting, Ambrosino said.

"To divert Officer Impemba from immediately responding to the crime scene was indefensible," Ambrosino wrote, adding that it was "unconscionable" to fail to mention anything to Impemba about the shooting.

Later that morning, when being questioned by State Police investigators, Franklin "blatantly lied" when he told investigators he ran home, Ambrosino said.

"Franklin's failure to tell the truth, while being interviewed as part of what was essentially a murder investigation, makes him unfit to continue serving as a sworn police officer," Ambrosino wrote. "There is overwhelming evidence here of egregious misconduct by Sergeant Franklin."

Reardon said in an interview that a lack of trust in Franklin was a major part in his decision to recommend that he be fired.

"The facts speak for themselves," Reardon said. "We regret having to terminate anybody, but under the circumstances, that seemed to be our only option."

Posted by mfinucane at 5:17 PM | Comments (0)

Freight train derailment raises hazmat concerns in Lawrence

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

A freight train derailed in a Lawrence rail yard today, causing hazardous material to leak and an evacuation of the area.

At about 4:45 p.m., a train with 49 freight cars was departing from a rail yard off Andover Street, near a residential neighborhood, when a broken switch point caused the derailment of the last two cars -- an empty box car and a hopper car filled with sodium chlorate, said Cynthia Scarano, a spokeswoman for Pan Am Railways, which owns the yard.

The runaway hopper car, which carries bulk materials, struck a freight car on another track, creating an 8-by-10-foot hole in the hopper car. The hopper car continued moving, leaving behind an approximately 2,300-foot trail of sodium chlorate, a white grainy substance used to make paper and fertilizer.

No one was injured, although several homes were evacuated.

Hazardous waste specialists cleaned up the material throughout the night. The material can become flammable after it is mixed with water and then dries, Scarano said, but clean up crews were not anticipating any problems. The state Department of Environmental Protection sent an emergency response person to the scene.

The accident caused a disruption in commuter rail service on the Haverhill line, forcing passengers to take a bus for a portion of the trip. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials are trying to determine whether the accident will effect the morning train schedule.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:13 PM | Comments (0)

Fancy felines, 51 of them, turned over to shelter

(MSPCA Photo)

This ailing Himalayan was one of those turned over to the shelter yesterday.

By Globe Staff

It was raining cats and dogs yesterday at the MSPCA animal adoption facility in Methuen. Actually, mostly cats.

MSPCA officials say a Merrimack Valley woman brought in 51 exotic cats and kittens, including breeds like the Rag Doll, Sphynx, Devon Rex, Himalayan, and Munchkin.

MSPCA spokesman Brian Adams said the woman had been breeding cats and “got in over her head.” She turned them over yesterday.

A number of the animals have an upper respiratory infection and they are all being evaluated for any other illnesses, Adams said.

“We’re going to do everything we can to help these cats along,” he said.

Adams said people can’t adopt any of the animals while they’re being evaluated. But he urged members of the public to adopt some of the other cats at the shelter.

“You can’t foster these cats, but please stop by and foster some other cats, because 51 cats takes up a lot of room,” he said.

Adams said people who want more information on the 51 cats can check for updates on the MSPCA‘s website. Some of the cats may be worth as much as $1,000.

Adams said that under the surrender agreement, the MSPCA wasn’t going to name the woman and neither would it press charges.

He said the MSPCA was a resource for animal owners and would keep in touch with the woman, in case she needs help again.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:45 PM | Comments (0)

Two teens face charges in 13-year-old's murder

By Globe Staff

Two Boston teenagers are facing charges in the January 2007 slaying of a 13-year-old boy in the city's Jamaica Plain section, Boston Police said today.

Nurudeen Alabi, 19, and Darrell Rodrigues, 17, both of the city's Roxbury section, face murder and weapons charges in the slaying of Luis Gerena, one of the city's youngest homicide victims in recent years.

The two defendants, already in custody on other charges, will be arraigned Friday in Roxbury District Court.

Boston detectives, working closely with Suffolk County prosecutors, solved the case after an exhaustive investigation with extensive cooperation from the community, police said.

"While our work is not yet done, we look forward to speaking in court for a child lost senselessly to violence," Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement.

Police Commissioner Ed Davis said his thoughts were with Gerena's family and loved ones. "I hope this news brings some small sense of peace as they continue to cope with their sad loss," he said.

Gerena was shot several times on Jan. 12, 2007, shortly after stepping off an MBTA train near the Bromley-Heath public housing development and calling his stepmother on his new cellphone to say he was just five minutes from home.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:53 PM | Comments (0)

Boston fire contract battle moves a step closer to arbitration

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

A state labor panel ruled today that the contentious contract dispute between the city of Boston and its firefighters has gone on long enough, and must be resolved or sent to binding arbitration.

The Joint Labor Management Committee's vote to authorize arbitration had been opposed by firefighters.

But Judge Sam Zoll, chairman of the committee, said, "This has to be resolved."

The next step, while the sides continue in mediation, will be for the committee to meet again and decide whether the thorny issue of random drug and alcohol testing, a late addition to the city's list of demands, would be included in the arbitration. There was no timeline set for when arbitration could begin.

City officials hailed the decision as a positive sign for taxpayers, while union representatives said the committee was caving in to pressure from City Hall and had compromised its neutrality.

The Menino administration asked for the drug and alcohol testing after a tragic fire claimed the lives of two firefighters last fall. Leaked autopsy results for the two men revealed that one had high blood alcohol levels -- more than three times the legal limit for drivers -- and the other had traces of cocaine in his system.

Union representatives insist they are not opposed to such testing, but say they want concessions from the city in exchange for it.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:27 PM | Comments (0)

Scientists to launch attack on winter moths in Wellesley

(Robert D. Childs/University of Massachusetts)

Scientists hope Cyzenis albicans will attack the winter moths -- and save the trees.

By Globe Staff

A team of scientists will release 1,000 parasitic flies tomorrow in Wellesley, in the latest counterattack against the invasion of winter moths, the voracious insects that are stripping trees of foliage in parts of eastern Massachusetts.

It's the fourth and largest release of the flies. The flies were previously released in Hingham, Falmouth, and Wenham, said Joseph Elkinton, the professor of entomology at UMass-Amherst who is leading the effort.

Clouds of the moths have been seen in recent years fluttering around people's porch lights from Thanksgiving into early January. But they're more than just a nuisance: In their caterpillar stage in the spring they can defoliate trees, said Elkinton.

"These are a serious problem because it's been going on in a number of places for almost a decade. ... This can really kill trees," he said, noting that the moths have also damaged blueberry crops.

The fly, Cyzenis albicans, is a natural enemy of the winter moth and has been used in other places to stop winter moth invasions. The scientists believe the fly will only attack the winter moth and not other species. It will take years, however, for the number of flies to catch up with the number of moths.

The project is a joint effort between UMass, the federal government, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Plymouth County Cooperative Extension.

"We have a long way to go catching up with the literally trillions of winter moths that are out there," Elkinton said.

Posted by mfinucane at 1:56 PM | Comments (0)

Man shot at 8 a.m. in Roxbury

By Globe Staff

A man was shot several times this morning on a street near Uphams Corner in Roxbury, police said.

Officers responded to Humphreys Street just after 8 a.m. and found a man with several gunshot wounds. He was rushed to Boston Medical Center, where his condition was not available.

Police are on scene looking for witnesses. No arrests have been reported.

Posted by aryan at 9:14 AM | Comments (0)

May 7, 2008

Methuen police chief fired; mayor says it's time to 'move on'

By Kytja Weir, Globe Correspondent

The mayor of Methuen fired the city's police chief this afternoon, more than seven months after the chief was placed on administrative leave amid an investigation into how the city used federal grants.

Joseph Solomon's termination followed seven days of hearings into nine allegations, including charges that he ordered police officers to travel to his sister's house approximately 280 times for non-law enforcement reasons, and authorized an assistant to "triple-dip" by receiving two sets of federal overtime funds on top of her salary.

Mayor William M. Manzi said the action would end uncertainty for the police department and the city of just over 44,000 along the New Hampshire line.

"We can move on as a community," he said.

Solomon's attorney, Andrew Gambaccini, greeted the news with some relief. He said Solomon had been expecting such an outcome for months and is now eager to appeal the decision to the state Civil Service Commission, where he feels he will receive a fairer hearing.

Solomon has argued that he has been retaliated against for cooperating in an investigation of Manzi. Manzi has denied he is being investigated. The FBI has had no comment.

The controversy stretches back more than two years to when questions were raised about how the Methuen Police Department handled grant money.

Federal officials have told the city that it misused grant money for overtime payments and needs to return about $170,000 of a Justice Department "Weed and Seed" grant. No one has been criminally charged.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:40 PM | Comments (0)

Mother, boyfriend held without bail in abuse case

By Alice Elwell, Globe Correspondent

A Middleborough woman and her boyfriend, both facing charges in the horrific abuse of the woman’s 7-year-old son, were ordered held without bail today after their arraignment in Brockton Superior Court.

Michelle Henry, 30, allegedly allowed David Privette, 22, to torture the boy. Privette has been charged with burning the boy's genital area with cigarettes, beating him with a belt, and urinating on his head.

The couple, who were originally arraigned in District Court after their March arrests, were indicted in Superior Court on April 17.

Henry pleaded not guilty today to three charges, including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a child and reckless endangerment of a child. Privette pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including mayhem, several counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and indecent assault and battery on a child.

The child and his 3-year-old sister are in the custody of the Department of Social Services. Judge Paul E. Troy scheduled another hearing in the case for May 12.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:03 PM | Comments (0)

Former Haverhill scoutmaster sentenced on rape charges

By Sally Jacobs, Globe Staff

SALEM -- A popular Boy Scout leader who also served as the director of the Haverhill Public Library pleaded guilty today to two counts of raping a boy in his troop more than two decades ago.

Howard W. Curtis, a Haverhill native, was sentenced in Salem Superior Court to two consecutive four- to six-year terms to be served in state prison. Now 58 and graying, Curtis's plea was almost inaudible and he did not make a statement.

Assistant District Attorney Andrew Camelio said that Curtis had an ongoing sexual relationship with Forrest Pettengill starting when the boy was 13. The abuse began on a camping trip and included various forms of sexual engagement. At one point, Curtis made a videotape of their sexual activity, "that was seen by the defendant's wife," said Camelio.

Pettengill, 34, lives in New Hampshire and was not in the courtroom. But Camelio read from a victim impact statement Pettengill had written. Pettengill's lawyers said he was willing to be identified.

As a result of Curtis's abuse, Pettengill wrote, "I became addicted to sex, and I blame him for teaching me what it was like. Howard's reign with me started right around age 11 or 12 until age 19. He groomed me. How dare he?! What gave him the right?"

Pettengill, who went to police in the fall of 2006 after months of intensive therapy, has also filed a civil suit against Curtis and the city of Haverhill and the Boy Scouts of America, claiming he was emotionally disabled by the abuse. The suit is pending in US District Court.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:37 PM | Comments (0)

Ogonowski takes a jab at Kerry in the first TV ad of campaign

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Senator John F. Kerry apparently hasn't visited enough coffee shops in Massachusetts.

At least he hasn't been to the ones his Republican challenger Jim Ogonowski visited in a listening tour of the state, as highlighted in the first television ad of Ogonowski's long-shot campaign to unseat the four-term Democratic incumbent.

The folksy ad, released today, features Ogonowski driving himself around Massachusetts going "from coffee shop to coffee shop" to hear voters' concerns.

He then features patrons' puzzled expressions when he asks them if Kerry has ever been in the coffee shop.

One woman's response: "John who?"

The Ogonowski campaign, which reported raising more than $300,000 in the first quarter of the year, would not say how much it was spending on the ad buy. Ogonowski is a Dracut hay farmer who is the brother of an airline pilot lost in the Sept. 11 attacks. He narrowly lost a congressional race to Democrat Niki Tsongas last fall.

A spokesman for Kerry, who was the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, called the ad "fiction" and provided a list of four dozen appearances by the junior senator at Massachusetts events so far in 2008. There did not appear to be any coffee shops on the list.

Posted by mfinucane at 5:19 PM | Comments (0)

Judge mulls bail for Carmen 'The Cheese Man' DiNunzio

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Reputed New England Mafia underboss Carmen "The Cheese Man'' DiNunzio realized he'd been caught in a sting when he was being booked on a bribery charge at the FBI last Friday and the man he thought was a corrupt state official stopped by to say hello.

Carmen DiNunzio

"He is an FBI agent?" asked DiNunzio, suddenly realizing that the purported Massachusetts highway inspector who had taken a $10,000 bribe from him in the fall of 2006 was, in fact, an undercover FBI agent, according to documents filed today in federal court during a bail hearing.

DiNunzio, 50, of East Boston, owner of a North End cheese shop, was indicted along with two other men last week on a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery.

He's accused of trying to bribe the undercover agent in a bid to secure a $6 million contract to provide 300,000 cubic yards of loam for the Big Dig.

Assistant US Attorney Peter K. Levitt argued today that DiNunzio should remain jailed without bail until the case is resolved because he might try to harm or intimidate a cooperating witness who helped orchestrate the sting by introducing DiNunzio to the undercover agent.

In a bid to convince a federal magistrate that DiNunzio is dangerous, Levitt played a tape of an Oct. 9, 2006, meeting that was secretly recorded by the FBI, in which the reputed mobster assured the undercover agent that he would make sure his associates, Anthony D'Amore, 55, of Revere, and Andrew Marino, 42, of Chelmsford, delivered the loam as promised.

"Yeah, well, we almost, I was gonna throw this (expletive) kid off a roof,'' said DiNunzio, later adding, "Look it, I don't even come out, I come out cause of this guy. I'm the Cheese Man.''

Boston attorney Anthony Cardinale, who represents DiNunzio, said his client, who weighs more than 400 pounds, suffers from diabetes, coronary heart disease, sleep apnea, and morbid obesity, and must be released from jail in order to get proper medical treatment.

US Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein said she'll resume the hearing tomorrow or the next day. She has yet to rule on bail.

DiNunzio has been a made member of the Mafia since the late 1990s and was tapped to serve as underboss four years ago by reputed boss Luigi "Louie" Manocchio of Providence, according to an FBI affidavit filed in court. DiNunzio was arrested in December 2006 by Massachusetts State Police on state charges of extortion and gambling conspiracy and is currently awaiting trial on those charges in Essex County.

The loam contract being sought by DiNunzio and the others apparently was intended for the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, almost eight acres of park and open space snaking through downtown Boston on the footprint of the old Central Artery.

Posted by aryan at 4:50 PM | Comments (0)

After bungled calls, police promise changes to 911 center

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

Boston Police said today they will immediately make changes to the 911 call center after acknowledging that in a recent incident officers took 35 minutes to come to the aid of an elderly man who had been beaten and robbed.

Superintendent-in-Chief Robert Dunford said the department would move up a previously scheduled training course for all of its 911 call takers and dispatchers.

The course will address a variety of issues, including how to categorize calls so police know exactly how urgent they are, making sure to verify addresses, and techniques for handling stress, he said.

Police supervisors will also monitor more 911 calls and superintendents and deputy superintendents will also listen in. Right now, calls are usually monitored by the lieutenants and sergeants in charge of the shifts.

“We are a living organization and a learning organization. As information comes in, we try to learn from what took place and how to make the system better,” Dunford said.

“Do we make errors? Yes,” he said. But then he praised the department’s officers and employees, saying, "They absolutely do the best job they possibly can."

The Globe reported today on the delay in responding to the assault on the 76-year-old man on April 20. It was the second time in less than two months that a 911 call taker's mistake led to a long delay in a police response.

In March, police took 14 minutes to get to a homicide scene on Washington Street in Dorchester after a call taker mistakenly sent police to the same street address in the Downtown Crossing area.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:46 PM | Comments (0)

Plumber injured in drain cleaner mishap

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A plumber suffered first- and second-degree chemical burns this morning when he was splashed with the drain cleaner he was using to unclog a drain in a customer’s sink in Westwood, fire officials said.

Firefighters responded to a home on Gloucester Street at around 9:30 a.m., finding the man with burns on his face and arms, said Westwood Deputy Fire Chief Roderick Morrison. A hazardous materials team was called as well.

Morrison said the man, whose name he did not know, was using Green Blaster drain opener, a commercial product used by plumbers. The powder is mixed with hot water and then poured down a drain to unclog it.

“Somehow it came back up,” Morrison said. “We haven’t been able to figure out why yet.”

The man suffered second degree burns around his eyes and forehead and first degree burns around his arms, Morrison said.

Posted by mfinucane at 3:00 PM | Comments (0)

Man killed in traffic accident on Route 128

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A man was killed this afternoon in an accident on Route 128 southbound on the Newton/Wellesley border, State Police said today.

A Toyota Yaris and a tractor-trailer were involved in the accident at Route 16 shortly after 1 p.m. The operator of the car died, said David Procopio, a State Police spokesman. The man's name wasn't immediately released.

The accident caused a traffic snarl, with cars backing up to Route 20 in Waltham, Trooper Eric Benson, a State Police spokesman, said.

Posted by mfinucane at 2:51 PM | Comments (0)

Bristol DA probing Berlin man for possible link to 1988 highway killing case

By John R. Ellement, Globe staff

Bristol County prosecutors have joined the list of law enforcement agencies investigating a Berlin man, who has been declared a "person of interest'' in six murders of women in Worcester and Middlesex counties that may have been the cruel handiwork of a serial killer.

Alex F. Scesny, 38, is currently being held without bail in the Worcester County Jail for allegedly raping a girlfriend in a West Boylston motel. He has pleaded not guilty.

A relative today spoke in support of Scesny, saying he has been effectively accused of horrific crimes in the media, but has never been charged in a court of law. "He's been tried and convicted before he's ever been charged,'' said Teresa Scesny, a sister-in-law who lives in Tennessee."I think the media is blowing this way out of proportion.''

Today, a spokesman for Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter, Jr. said State Police detectives are checking any possible links between Scesny and the murder of 11 women in the New Bedford area in 1988, a series of murders that came to be called the "highway killings.''

"We are checking on his whereabouts at the time of the highway killings,'' spokesman Gregg Miliote said. "We are doing our due diligence. I don't think there is any hard evidence at this point to him as being a new suspect.

In both the New Bedford cluster of killings and the murders of five women from the Main South neighborhood of Worcester, most of the women were substance abusers who sometimes turned to prostitution to support their drugs.

Tim Connolly, spokesman for Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr., said today that Manchester, N.H., police have also inquired about Scesny as they investigate two unsolved murders of women in that state.

According to a State Police affidavit filed in Worcester Superior Court last month, DNA testing done by the State Police in connection with the rape charge against Scesny produced a match with forensic evidence recovered from the body of Theresa K. Stone, who was murdered in Fitchburg in 1996.

Scesny has not been charged with Stone's killing. His sister-in-law, while stressing she was not trying to disrespect Stone and her family, noted that the woman worked as a prostitute at the time of her murder. "So, if he had sex with her it doesn't mean he killed her,'' she said. "I just don't think Al did it.''

Connolly said his office is investigating the deaths of Stone and two other women, whose bodies were found in Maine in 2004 and Rutland, Mass., in 2007. Corey Welford, spokesman for Middlesex County District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. declined comment on the investigation by Leone's office into the deaths of three women whose remains were found in Marlborough and Hudson in 2003 and 2004.

Posted by jellement at 1:41 PM | Comments (0)

State to help coastal communities cope with global warming woes

(Tom Herde/Globe Staff)

Could it get worse? Waves pounded the seawall at high tide along Stony Beach Road in the Gun Rock section of Hull during an April 2007 storm.

Globe Staff

State officials say they’re launching a groundbreaking program in which they will assist communities perched on the Massachusetts coast in coping with global warming hazards like rising sea level and stronger and more frequent storms.

The program, StormSmart Coasts, was announced today by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which billed it as a "nation-leading initiative."

The program will begin with four workshops this month, in Norwell, New Bedford, Barnstable, and Danvers, that will offer information on how communities can protect property and people from coastal storms.

The state says the program, which will include an extensive website, will offer communities along the state’s 1,500-mile shoreline “a suite of tools and strategies.”

The intended audience includes officials on Planning Boards, Conservation Commissions, Zoning Boards of Appeals, Departments of Public Works, and others in town government.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)

Marlborough woman sentenced in bogus prescription case

By Globe Staff

A 46-year-old Marlborough woman has been convicted of fraudulently obtaining prescriptions for stimulants and painkillers, prosecutors said.

Ellen Frangules pleaded guilty yesterday to charges that between 2004 and 2007, using bogus prescriptions, she obtained the medicines in Massachusetts and Connecticut under her name, the name of her ex-husband, and the names of her children.

She also used the name of a stranger and the name of her former attorney, stealing their identities, the attorney general's office said in a statement.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Charles Hely yesterday sentenced her to serve two and a half years in jail, with 30 days to serve and the rest of the sentence suspended for five years. He also sentenced her to five years of probation during which she must undergo intensive supervision, including random drug testing and drug treatment.

Frangules was given credit for 30 days she has already spent in jail, so she is now beginning her probationary period, said attorney general's spokesman Harry Pierre.

Posted by mfinucane at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

Potential Green Line stops announced in Somerville, Medford

(Executive Office of Transportation)

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

State transportation officials unveiled the potential locations of up to seven new MBTA trolley stops in Somerville and Medford this week as a more definitive picture emerged of the long awaited extension of the Green Line.

Globe file photograph

The seven sites, which were announced at a meeting Monday, came eight months into a yearlong environmental review by the Executive Office of Transportation. The plan would lay new trolley tracks along the existing commuter rail line and extend the Green Line from Lechmere Station in East Cambridge to Mystic Valley Parkway in Somerville by Dec. 31, 2014.

The locations of potential stations include Brickbottom at Washington Street, Gilman Square at Medford Street, and Lowell Street, all of which are in Somerville. The trolley would then roll into Medford and stop twice on Boston Avenue at Ball Square and Hillside, which is near Tufts University. The Green Line would then cross back into Somerville, where the final station is under consideration at Route 16 and Mystic Valley Parkway.

The plan also proposes an offshoot from the main trolley line after Lechmere that would service a station at Union Square in Somerville and a 10- to 12-acre rail maintenance yard near Brickbottom.

A plan to extend the Green Line beyond East Cambridge has been percolating since at least the 1940s. The state committed to the project in 1990, when it pledged to make multiple transit improvements to avoid a lawsuit from the Conservation Law Foundation threatening to block construction of the Big Dig.

The environmental study has taken into account noise, air quality, the effect on private homes, and a host of other potential impacts of extending the trolley line. The study has included more than two dozen public meetings, and at least a dozen more will be scheduled before it is completed in September. The next meeting will be held at 4 p.m. on June 2 in Medford at a location that has not yet been determined.

Once the study is complete, transportation officials will submit their report to the state office of environmental affairs.

Posted by aryan at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

Carver teen arrested after driving car onto town athletic fields

(Carver Police Photo)

George Cowen's motives weren't immediately known.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A Carver teen is facing a slew of criminal charges for allegedly driving onto the town's athletic fields, forcing hundred to "run for their lives'' to avoid being struck, according to Carver police.

In a statement released today, police identified the driver as 17-year-old George Cowen and said he lives on Craig Street in Carver. Police said once they stopped Cowen, they recovered a 16-inch knife.

Cowen's motives were not immediately known. Police said upwards of 600 people were on the fields for various sports at Carver High School around 6:40 p.m. yesterday when Cowen allegedly drove a gray Mercury onto the fields.

"Several individuals were almost hit by the vehicle and people ran, fearing for their lives,'' police said in the statement. At least 10 people called 911 to report Cowen, police said.

Police said Cowen drove away from the high school and was spotted by Officer Dennis Rizzutto on Pond Street where he tried to pull him over. But Cowen drove into incoming traffic and drove recklessly past other cars before suddenly deciding to stop, police said.

Cowen was to be arraigned today in Wareham District Court on 11 charges, including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, speeding, and failure to stop for a police officer, police said. Cowen, who was transferred to Jordan Hospital last night for psychiatric evaluation, didn't appear at the hearing today.

Posted by jellement at 9:02 AM | Comments (0)

May 6, 2008

Food pantry director charged with stealing groceries

By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Correspondent

Police say that the executive director of the Randolph Community Food Pantry and his wife were shoplifting from a local supermarket. But the couple says there was simply a mishap in the self-checkout line.

Ronald DiGuilio, 60, the executive director, and his wife, Rita, 52, both of Randolph, pleaded not guilty at their arraignment today in Quincy District Court to charges they stole between $50 and $60 worth of goods from a Shaw’s Supermarket on Memorial Parkway, according to David Traub, spokesman for the Norfolk district attorney’s office.

Mrs. DiGuilio said the incident Monday was a misunderstanding and that she and her husband were having trouble with the store’s self-checkout machine. She said her husband called over a store employee for help three or four times after being prompted to do so by the machine.

The employee "punched in her code and she told him he was all set, so he just assumed that everything was OK.," she said.

As they walked out the door, they were stopped because some of the items had not actually been scanned and paid for, she said.

“It is just really devastating because it wasn’t something that was done intentionally,” she said.

The case has been continued until June 18, Traub said. The charge carries a maximum penalty of a $250 fine.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:41 PM | Comments (0)

Ablaze with the colors of spring

Lynea Nagle of Dorchester, in a fuchsia blouse, painted a flowering tree at Joe Moakley Park in South Boston today that had its own blazing colors. Globe staff photographer Wendy Maeda captured the moment.

Posted by mfinucane at 7:23 PM | Comments (0)

New rules for grease-cleaning firms won't be ready until next week

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

The Boston City Council will take up a proposal to regulate commercial kitchen hood and vent cleaners next week, instead of tomorrow as council members had hoped, Councilor Mike Ross said today.

The rules would establish a $200 fine for restaurants that fail to have their ventilation systems regularly cleaned by a company certified and licensed by the city.

The rules are a response to the death in August of two Boston firefighters battling a blaze at a West Roxbury restaurant that started in a kitchen ventilation system.

Councilors had hoped to vote on the proposal at their meeting tomorrow, but Ross said the law still was being tweaked.

Among the changes to the ordinance being considered are a provision ensuring a low-cost certification option for small, established cleaning companies, and a provision adding a requirement that cleaners notify the city in case a portion of a ventilation system could not be cleaned.

Posted by mfinucane at 6:10 PM | Comments (0)

Life is good Inc. reaches $50K settlement in drawstring hazard case

By Globe Staff

Boston apparel maker Life is good Inc. has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle claims that it distributed children's sweatshirts with drawstrings that could be hazardous and failed to notify government regulators about it.

The agreement with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, under which the company does not admit any fault in the case, was reached last month. The federal agency is accepting comments on the settlement until May 14.

Life is good is known for its upbeat name and the smiling face named "Jake" on its original line of T-shirts.

But the agency said the distribution of the children's sweatshirts in 2006 and 2007 had created a "strangulation hazard to children."

CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said the agency considers the drawstrings a hazard. And, because of that, Life is good was required to report the problem immediately.

The company, whose official response was included in the settlement, denied that it knew the products posed a risk and denied that it had knowingly violated the federal Consumer Product Safety Act.

Company spokesman Jim Laughlin said the company, in one instance, had told its manufacturer not to put drawstrings on the product, but it did so anyway. “We caught it early and moved fast and alerted all of our retailers in virtually all cases before they even received the shipped items,” he said. All but five of the items were recalled.

In another instance, the company produced a customized product for an online retailer, then assisted that company with the recall, Laughlin said.

No problems were reported with any of the sweatshirts, he said.

The drawstrings have caused injuries and even death when they have gotten tangled on such items as playground equipment, bus doors, and cribs, regulators said.

Wolfson said Life is good was one of eight companies that reached a $322,000 settlement with the agency.

"The apparel industry needs to get in compliance across the board with these guidelines. ... The impact of not complying with it can be deadly," he said.

Posted by mfinucane at 4:30 PM | Comments (0)

Cyclone: Q & A on international aid

(Reuters/ Vorasit Satienlerk )

Burmese soldiers unload boxes of instant noodles Tuesday for cyclone victims.

By Roy Greene, Globe Staff

Patrick Webb, a Tufts University professor and a specialist on humanitarian emergencies, answers questions about challenges the world community faces in responding to the devastating cyclone that struck Burma early Saturday, killing untold thousands.

Patrick Webb

Webb, dean for academic affairs at Tuft's Friedman School, assisted in the relief operation for the 2004 Asian tsunami with the UN World Food Program, and has worked in countries like North Korea and Burma. He visited Rangoon in May 2002.

Q. The reclusive clique of generals that runs Burma has said it will accept outside disaster aid. What are the greatest obstacles to providing aid to Burma?

A. Burma, like North Korea, has kept the international community at arm’s length for some time. This is unfortunate for many reasons. The most effective forms of humanitarian response build on pre-existing grass-roots relations with communities that are vulnerable to shocks of many kinds (be they cyclones, tidal waves, earthquakes, or locusts).

Good early warning builds on a deep understanding not only of risks, but also of the capacities that exist among institutions and communities to cope with shocks. That most UN organizations and nongovernmental agencies have not been allowed a long-standing interaction with vulnerable communities in Burma means that there is limited local knowledge of conditions on the ground, and few established partnerships with indigenous organizations that would facilitate timely and tailored actions.

The Burmese have also been reluctant to accept emergency assistance from the US, which means that they are cutting themselves off from potentially large resources that could make a big difference. There was similar reticence among some countries impacted by the Asian tsunami to allow the US ground access because of political and military sensitivities—but when that was overcome the US played a key role in the relief operations.

Q. In disasters such as this, what is needed the most and the quickest?

A. There are multiple needs at multiple levels. The most urgent, at the ground level, is to find and treat people who are still alive but in need of urgent care. In Aceh after the 2004 earthquake and tsunami, pulling people out of the mud or out of collapsed buildings was a daily task for thousands of volunteers. The same is happening now across southern Burma.

Bringing appropriate medical resources, sniffer dogs, bulldozers (and yes, body bags) to places where roads are damaged, bridges washed away, and communications systems damaged is a major challenge—but it can be done if sufficient helicopters and shallow boats are made available. For people not requiring medical attention but displaced, traumatized or having lost home and belongings, the most urgent needs include shelter, warmth, clean water, food, and personal security. That sounds like a lot, and it is. The essence of keeping people alive who were not immediately killed or hurt is to protect and sustain. That includes heading-off problems like diarrhea, measles or cholera epidemics, and child malnutrition.

But effective response also requires collaboration and support of domestic institutions, on the one hand, and coordination of international resources, on the other. The nature of relations between authorities and citizens matters a great deal (as was noted in the context of hurricane Katrina). Without mutual trust that relief will be appropriate and delivered according to need, panic and chaos may ensue, followed by recrimination. Ensuring sufficient complementary international resources is also crucial. Many organizations have skills in disaster response, but not everyone is needed everywhere. Professional needs assessment should precede a rapid analysis of response options, leading to a large-scale mobilization of people and products needed to succeed.

Q. Should humanitarian groups be worried about how much access the regime will give aid workers?

A. Yes they should. Unhindered access of care-givers to those in need is a key to successful humanitarian action. If certain populations are kept off limits, because of who they are (marginalized political or ethnic groups), or where they are (inhabiting politically sensitive locations, such as contested borders, military zones or secret production facilities), then innocents can die and the necessary objectivity and neutrality of the relief endeavor itself can be compromised.

For example, many of the dead who washed up on the shores of Thailand in 2004-05 were found to be Burmese fishermen who had been fishing well down the Thai coast when the tsunami struck. While the international community invested very large sums of money into post mortem investigations to identify bodies so that they could be repatriated, it proved to be rather difficult to interact with affected families in Burma due to restrictions on communications.

Today, Burma’s Minister of Information has reportedly stated that the authorities “will not hide anything,” but there is a credibility gap. Continuing disputes over political freedom, repression of minorities, and the government’s resistance to engage with many international organizations, including UN representatives, have led to distrust on both sides. The UN’s experience in North Korea and in Afghanistan under the Taliban suggests that while humanitarian access may have to be insisted on, a firm line can pay dividends.

Q. What lessons can the world community learn from the response to the 2004 Asian tsunami?

A. Three lessons stand out. The first is that relief actions are increasingly professional and successful. While concerns are sometimes voiced about where the money goes, financial transparency continues to improve while humanitarian goals (saving lives, resolving malnutrition, etc.), are being met faster and better than ever before. The Burma relief operation should be closely monitored and evaluated as part of the accumulated knowledge of the humanitarian community. There is little place of amateurism, however well-meaning, in large-scale disaster response.

The second lesson is that development planners, not just relief agencies, need to focus on the fact that large-scale natural disasters, particularly wind storms and floods, have been increasing in the past decade. Whether associated with climate change or not, cyclones such as Nargis are no longer unusual nor unexpected. Shocks can no longer be seen as “blips” on the radar, but as part of the process of development. Countries achieving poverty reduction have to factor large-scale threats into their development planning -- particularly, since many shocks now affect urban locations where large numbers of poor people are increasingly migrating.

The third lesson is that early warning matters. There are many examples of early warning systems that developed critical expertise and critical mass over many years, only to decline due to a lack of funding and staffing in periods without major shocks. When disasters are repeated, the importance of well-funded warning systems is visible.

When shocks are less frequent, poor governments seeking to cut budgets often find warning institutions an easy option. The growing threat to increasing numbers of people around the world means that national systems need to be strengthened (technologically, financially and politically), they need to be regionally combined to generate cross-border exchanges of information, and global systems need to be better grounded back at the national level.

Posted by rgreene at 4:17 PM | Comments (0)

With jazz and storytellers, swans return to the Public Garden

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

The sun shimmered this morning on the lagoon at the Public Garden, where storytellers, face painters, politicians, and a four-piece jazz band heralded the return today of the city’s storied swans, Romeo and Juliet.

The ceremony began at the Make Way for Ducklings statue near Beacon and Charles streets, where park rangers read from the 1941 classic children’s book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey that inspired the sculpture.

A lilting tune from a saxophone and trumpet led a winding parade through the Public Garden, past the George Washington statue, over the pedestrian bridge, and to the lagoon. The swans rode in white carriages festooned with flowers.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and others spoke, and then the swans were released into the lagoon after spending a long winter at the Franklin Park Zoo.

"It's really a sweet, sweet thing," said Mary Hines, a spokeswoman for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Posted by aryan at 4:07 PM | Comments (0)

Kerry: Remove Nelson Mandela from US terror watch list

By Globe Staff

Senator John F. Kerry introduced legislation today that would remove Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela from US terrorism watch lists.

(Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images)

Mandela and other members of African National Congress have remained on terror watch lists for activities they conducted against South Africa’s apartheid regime decades ago, according to a press release from Kerry’s office.

"Nelson Mandela is one of the world’s strongest voices for human dignity and courage in the face of oppression," Kerry said in the release. "The idea that