Menino accused of ignoring potholes

April 22, 2004

Councilor at Large Maura A. Hennigan blasted Mayor Thomas M. Menino yesterday, alleging he has ignored potholes in city roads as his administration gears up for the Democratic National Convention. As she prepared to hold a hearing on the problem Monday, Hennigan said the $22 million earmarked for permanent repair of city streets and sidewalks is not being used properly. At the hearing, she plans to question Joseph F. Casazza, the city's commissioner of public works, demanding that his department provide a list of needed pothole and sidewalk repairs in Boston and schedule permanent fixes.

Bradford man held after police chase

State Police arrested a Bradford man early yesterday after he allegedly pulled a gun on a Cambridge resident and led police on a chase from Central Square to Ruggles Street in Boston, a pursuit that ended when the suspect crashed into two State Police cruisers, authorities said. Eric Perkins, 28, was arraigned in Roxbury District Court yesterday on charges of assault, drug, and motor vehicle violations. Perkins was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail and sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for an evaluation. Cambridge police may bring more charges against Perkins, authorities said. He is due back in court May 10.

CAMBRIDGE

Economist named Kennedy School dean

David T. Ellwood, a Harvard economist and former Clinton administration official, was named yesterday as the next dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Ellwood, who has been on the Kennedy school's faculty since 1980, will succeed Joseph S. Nye Jr., an international security specialist who has led the Kennedy school since 1995. Nye announced plans last fall to step down. Announcing Ellwood's appointment yesterday, Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers described him as a "penetrating scholar and analyst" whose work on inequality has had a "profound influence" in the public sphere.

SOMERVILLE

Everett teen killed by car; driver held

A 14-year-old Everett boy was killed and another teen was injured when they were struck by a Honda while walking near the Assembly Square Mall yesterday, said Emily LaGrassa, spokeswoman for the Middlesex district attorney. The 14-year-old was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital. The other teen was taken to Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett, where he was treated for minor injuries. Their names were not immediately released. The driver of the Honda, Nadler Ducasse, 18, of Somerville, was arrested after the accident near Interstate 93 and was being held at the Somerville police station last night. Charges were pending last night, and he is expected to be arraigned today in Somerville District Court, LaGrassa said.

QUINCY

Officer awarded $300,000 in suit

A federal jury yesterday awarded a Quincy police officer $300,000 in damages in a lawsuit that accused the city of retaliating against him after he helped a female officer with her sexual harassment claim. Quincy police Lieutenant John McDonough alleged that the city unjustly transferred him four years ago after officials found a report he authored that documented the harassment and hostile treatment of a fellow police officer, Nancy Coletta. After she filed a discrimination complaint against the Police Department, McDonough provided a copy of his report to Coletta, who eventually settled her claim for $165,000, 14 weeks of vacation, and 14 weeks of sick leave. McDonough alleged that after his report surfaced he was stripped of his command of the drug unit during the night shift and moved to the day shift with no one to supervise and a 15 percent pay cut. An attorney for the city of Quincy said yesterday that the city plans to appeal the decision.

MASSACHUSETTS

Plaintiffs fault budget for the retarded

Massachusetts advocates for developmentally disabled adults argued yesterday that the budget plan offered by House leaders for the next fiscal year would violate a 2000 federal court order requiring lawmakers to drastically reduce a lengthy waiting list for residential placements. In a letter sent to House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran, a lawyer for plaintiffs in the case said he may seek an injunction to compel the House to add $12 million to the appropriation for the Department of Mental Retardation. The House budget calls for $3 million to handle the waiting list, but advocates say the court order requires $15 million.