Court rejects Puerto Rican voting rights
A federal appeals court in Boston ruled yesterday that residents of Puerto Rico do not have the right to vote in US presidential elections, rejecting the fourth challenge in more than a decade from residents of the US territory who say they are being treated like second-class citizens. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled 5-to-2 that the US Constitituon confers the right to vote on electors who are appointed by each state. ''The case for giving Puerto Ricans the right to vote in presidential elections is fundamentally a political one and must be made through political means," wrote Chief Judge Michael Boudin, adding that it would require an amendment to the Constitution or making Puerto Rico a state.
Romney trying to expedite court choice
The Governor's Council will vote next week on the appointment of a juvenile court judge who bypassed approval by the Judicial Nominating Commission. Romney nominated Springfield lawyer Henry Rigali last month to fill a vacancy on the Hampden County Juvenile Court, causing a stir in legal circles because the governor sidestepped his own system for nominating judicial appointments.
Man indicted in rape as habitual offender
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said yesterday that a Dorchester man accused of raping a woman in his car in June has been indicted as a habitual offender, meaning the man faces life imprisonment if convicted. Conley said Raymond Diamond, 43, faces charges of aggravated rape, kidnapping, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon, operating to endanger, and failure to stop for police. Conley said the victim, a 39-year-old Dorchester woman, was raped at knifepoint and suffered lacerations to her legs and finger as she struggled. Diamond is scheduled to be arraigned today in Suffolk Superior Court.
Police arrest 4 men on firearms charges
Boston police arrested four men on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm Tuesday night and yesterday morning, police said. All of the men were arrested by Youth Violence Strike Force officers patrolling in Roxbury and Dorchester. One of the men, John Arseneau, 24, of Brighton, was allegedly carrying a gun with an obliterated serial number, which is a crime because some guns without serial numbers can't be traced. Officers arrested Arseneau on Blue Hill Avenue after pulling him over and discovering that his car's registration had expired.
LYNN
Pa. man dies when hit by trash truck
A Pennsylvania man was killed yesterday when he was run over by a trash truck. Lynn police said that Lawrence C. Sherman, 52, of northeast Pennsylvania was killed when the truck backed up into a building to dump refuse. Mark Tatterfield of Seabrook, N.H., was operating the truck, owned by JRM Hauling and Recycling of Peabody. Police also identified the woman who was injured Tuesday when an allegedly drunk driver plowed into her sausage stand. Paula Monteleone, 63, of Winthrop was in critical condition at Massachusetts General Hospital, Lynn police said.
REVERE
Pedestrian struck, killed on parkwayA Revere man was killed in a car accident on Revere Beach Parkway yesterday, just hours after city officials met with Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey to discuss road safety. Five lives have already been lost this year in crashes on several of Revere's state-run roads, three of them on Revere Beach Parkway, Route 16. Yesterday afternoon, Alfred Lopresti, 72, was struck by a sport utility vehicle as he crossed an intersection on the parkway, State Police said. The driver has not been charged.
WELLESLEY
Man, 55, is struck and killed by train
A Wellesley man died last evening when he was struck by a commuter rail train, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said. The Framingham/Worcester Line was heading west when it hit the 55-year-old victim just east of the Wellesley Square station at about 6:35 p.m., Pesaturo said. The train was running express from South Station to West Natick and wasn't going to stop at the Wellesley Square station, Pesaturo said. The victim, whose name wasn't released, was on the tracks when he was struck. Passengers on the line were bused from Wellesley Farms to Framingham for the rest of the night while Transit Police investigated.
