Pets linked to N.E. deaths to be destroyed
NORWICH, OHIO
Because four more hamsters from an Ohio pet distribution center have tested positive for a virus blamed in the deaths of three New England organ recipients, the center's 4,000 small pets -- including hamsters, mice, and gerbils -- will be killed and disposed of to prevent the virus from spreading, said LeeAnne Mizer, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Agriculture. The virus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, or LCMV, usually produces flu-like symptoms but can be dangerous to anyone with a weak immune system. A doctor at a Rhode Island Hospital discovered the infection in April when two of her kidney transplant patients developed symptoms. (AP)
MALDEN
The State Board of Education voted unanimously yesterday to close Frederick Douglass Charter School in Boston. The board initially voted in February to shut down the school because of low test scores and poor financial record-keeping, but school officials appealed and asked for a hearing. A hearing officer backed the board's decision. In other action, the board approved emergency regulations granting all parents equal rights to their children's school records, even if a parent doesn't have custody of the child. Before, noncustodial parents had to show written proof that they posed no danger to the child. The board is seeking feedback, asking the public to weigh in on the regulations, and will vote in three months on whether to make them permanent.
BOSTON
Alleged food tainting stirs hunger strike
Three inmates at the House of Correction at South Bay allegedly put maggots into a dinner Tuesday, prompting about 30 fellow inmates to briefly stage a hunger strike, a spokesman for Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea J. Cabral said. An alleged Latin Kings street gang member apparently obtained the maggots by allowing food to spoil in his cell and then, with two others, slipped them into a dinner, said Steven Tompkins, the sheriff's spokesman. About 30 inmates also refused to eat breakfast Wednesday. Several prisoners led authorities to the three inmates, who were transferred to other jails.
Senate OK's bill to increase pay to lawyers
The Senate yesterday sent Governor Mitt Romney legislation that would increase the pay of court-appointed lawyers for poor criminal defendants, a move intended to halt a growing crisis in the courts stemming from the difficulty defendants are having trying to find lawyers. In an informal session, the Senate largely concurred with a House plan that, among other things, increases the pay to bar advocates to $100 an hour from $61.50 for homicide cases; to $60 an hour from $46.50 for nonhomicide Superior Court cases; and to $50 an hour from $37.50 for district court cases and other types of cases.
Mosquitoes found to carry diseases
Two mosquitoes found this week in Easton and Kingston have tested positive for West Nile and eastern equine encephalitis, the first time the mosquito-borne diseases have been seen in Massachusetts this year. No human cases of either disease have been confirmed in the Bay State this year, according to officials at the state Department of Public Health.
STONEHAM
Affordable housing project approved
The Zoning Board of Appeals last night voted unanimously to approve a building permit for Langwood Commons, a 450-unit affordable housing project on 23 acres at the former Boston Regional Medical Center. The vote closed a hearing that spanned five months for what is considered the largest and most controversial development ever proposed in town. Simpson Housing, LP of Colorado applied for the permit under Massachusetts General Law 40B, which enables developers to bypass certain local zoning bylaws if they reserve at least 20 percent of the units for low- and middle-income buyers.
Pittsburgh
Former lawmaker to head school district
Former Massachusetts state representative Mark Roosevelt, one of the main authors of the state's Education Reform Act of 1993, was named superintendent of schools Wednesday night. The school board, in a 6-to-2 vote, put Roosevelt in charge of the 33,000-student system, roughly half the size of Boston. Most recently, Roosevelt was managing director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education; he moved to New Mexico earlier this year. He plans to start his job Aug. 15.
