Jury tosses bicyclist's civil rights suit

A federal jury yesterday rejected a civil rights suit brought by a bicyclist arrested on Memorial Drive in Cambridge in May 2001, concluding that the man wasn't wrongly arrested by a state trooper. Peter Rowinsky, 31, now a second-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, alleged that he was harassed for riding a bike on the busy roadway. But former trooper John Walsh, who retired from the State Police three years ago, testified last week that Rowinsky was among 100 cyclists from the group Critical Mass, which was blocking traffic and refused to move despite repeated requests. Jurors in the civil case deliberated for less than an hour.

Woman in parked car is shot, wounded

Police were investigating the shooting yesterday of a Dorchester woman, who was wounded in the left leg as she sat in a parked car on Blue Hill Avenue at about 2:30 a.m. The woman was in the passenger seat of a blue Volkswagen Passat when someone in a red sports utility vehicle pulled up to the car's driver's side and began shooting, Boston police reported. The Passat's driver, whom police did not identify because he is a witness to the crime, was not injured. He took the victim, Tanya Martinez, 27, to Boston Medical Center for treatment. She was released later yesterday. Police said no arrests had been made last night.

Police ID victim of fatal shooting

Boston police have identified the victim of the city's sixth homicide of the year. Robert Russell, 43, of Charlestown, was found shot in the Bunker Hill Housing Development early Sunday. He was later pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital. No arrests have been made and police are asking anyone with information to call 617-343-4470 or the Crime Stoppers Anonymous tip line at 800-494-TIPS.

Ex-mayor Cianci asks for resentencing

Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, the former mayor of Providence who is in prison for racketeering conspiracy, wants his sentence thrown out because of a Jan. 12 Supreme Court decision. Cianci's lawyer, John MacFayden, argued yesterday in a brief filed with the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston that the district court erred when it sentenced Cianci to 64 months in prison because it depended on mandatory sentencing guidelines that the high court since has said should be merely discretionary. MacFayden asked that the case be sent back to Providence for resentencing. (AP)

AMHERST

UMass student stabbed in fight at party

A University of Massachusetts student was stabbed in the neck early Sunday during a party on campus, school officials said. UMass spokesman Ed Blaguszewski said the stabbing occurred around 12:30 a.m. at the Student Union Ballroom. A crowd of about 700 gathered after a fashion show earlier in the evening at the Student Union. The stabbing occurred during a fight broken up by UMass police officers using pepper spray. The student, who was not identified, was treated at Holyoke Hospital and released, Blaguszewski said. (AP)

PROVIDENCE

R.I. sues Keyspan over LNG terminal

Rhode Island's attorney general sued Keyspan yesterday over the energy company's plan to build an expanded liquefied natural gas terminal in Providence. The lawsuit is the latest round in a debate over who can decide where the facilities should be located. Filed in US District Court by Attorney General Patrick Lynch, the suit asserts that Rhode Island should have the right to decide whether Keyspan can add to its LNG facility in Providence. Keyspan filed a federal lawsuit last month asking the court to decide how the state Coastal Resources Management Council should treat its application for the Providence terminal. Lynch's suit argues that states should be allowed to reject a proposal based on underwater sovereignty issues. (AP)

DEDHAM

Couple gives $15m to retirement project

Las Vegas developer Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, have donated $15 million to a retirement community planned for Dedham. Hebrew SeniorLife, a Boston-area network of care centers for the elderly, announced yesterday that the donation by the Adelsons was the largest in the organization's 102-year history. The assisted-living community planned for a 162-acre site in Dedham will be named for the Adelsons, former residents of Newton who now live in Las Vegas and Tel Aviv. (AP)