Romney signs bill aiding officer
BOSTON
Making an exception to the policy the administration announced late last session, Governor Mitt Romney signed a bill establishing a sick-leave bank for Hanover probation officer Sean Glennon yesterday. Glennon is caring for his young daughter as she is treated for an inoperable and malignant brain tumor. Romney has argued against routinely creating such banks into which co-workers can contribute sick days, and he vetoed the Glennon bill late during the last session, leaving the House and Senate no time to override his veto. (Statehouse News Service)
Former hospital employee sentenced
A former administrative aide at Brigham and Women's Hospital was sentenced yesterday to two years in prison after she admitted stealing $177,722 from a researcher affiliated with the hospital and Harvard Medical School. Sherrye Houlder, 44, of Hyde Park, pleaded guilty in Suffolk Superior Court to charges including larceny and forgery after stealing 53 checks payable to Dr. Howard Weiner, a researcher with the Center for Neurologic Diseases, said David Procopio, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. Houlder, employed at the hospital from June 2001 to December 2003, must serve one year of her sentence with the balance suspended for five years, Procopio said. She also was ordered to pay full restitution and not hold any jobs that place her in a role of fiduciary responsibility.
Harvard Medical set to research aging
A California philanthropist is giving Harvard Medical School $5 million to expand research on the biology of aging, Harvard officials said yesterday. The money from Paul F. Glenn, a Harvard Law School alumnus and founder of the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, will fund two new faculty positions and new laboratories. David Sinclair, a Harvard associate professor who is researching substances that might extend life span, will direct the labs.
MBTA urged to retain Night Owl bus
Politicians, T union leaders, and representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Driving urged the MBTA yesterday not to cut the Night Owl bus service, which ferries late-night passengers on weekends after the subway shuts down. Supporters of the four-year-old service say it helps to curtail drunken driving and improve public safety. But T officials, who are trying to balance their budget, say the Night Owl's ridership, which averaged 1,900 per weekend night in 2003, does not justify its $1.4 million-a-year cost. The board of directors of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is scheduled to vote today on ending the service and several other cost-saving measures.
Reilly files mercury emissions suit vs. EPA
Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly filed suit yesterday in US District Court against the US Environmental Protection Agency for documents he says the agency is withholding that would show a better way to reduce mercury emissions from power plants than one the agency is proposing. Next week, the EPA, which critics say is too industry friendly, is expected to release new mercury regulations for power plants. Mercury emitted from power plants can build up in the environment and pose serious health risks to fetuses and children.
WASHINGTON
9 fire departments to get US funds
Senator Edward M. Kennedy announced Wednesday that more than $1.8 million from the Department of Homeland Security will be available to nine fire departments across the state. The locations and amounts, all for operations and safety, are Quincy, $181,477; Westfield, $363,600; Revere, $227,790; Pittsfield, $345,096; Braintree, $202,414; Monson, $20,655; Whitman, $158,037; and Northampton, $254,932. Ayer has been awarded $88,200 to buy a new vehicle.
BURLINGTON, Vt.
Police seek help after woman found slain
A 31-year-old woman was found slain in her car on Hyde Street in the city's Old North End Wednesday morning, police said. Police are asking the public for help in determining what Laura Winterbottom did Tuesday night before she died. Winterbottom attended a private social function in Burlington on Tuesday evening, but police wouldn't say much about the event or the status of their investigation. Police Chief Tom Tremblay said there was no reason to believe there was a threat to the public. Police would not say how Winterbottom died. (AP)
