NU arts and sciences dean resigns

September 5, 2008

Jim Stellar has abruptly resigned as dean of Northeastern University's College of Arts and Sciences, the largest college at Northeastern. In a memo to faculty and staff on Wednesday, Stephen W. Director, university provost, praised Stellar's 10 years of service, including his creation of experiential education and research opportunities. Stellar was known at the university as a proponent of research programs for both graduate and undergraduate students. A university spokesman gave no reason for his departure, which was effective yesterday. Director said Stellar would take a sabbatical while considering his next career step.

State officials are set to announce a new scheduled air passenger service for Worcester Regional Airport for the first time in two years. The Massachusetts Port Authority said in a news release yesterday that the details of a service offering direct flights to Florida beginning this fall will be announced today. It would be the first new scheduled passenger service since Allegiant Air shut down operations at Worcester in September 2006, less than a year into a five-year deal with the city. Las Vegasbased Allegiant, which provided service to Florida, said it was losing money on the routes because of fuel costs and competition for budget-conscious travelers. US Airways Express had served the airport before Allegiant, but left in February 2003. That airline said ticket sales were slow and it had to cut costs as part of bankruptcy reorganization. (AP)

Federal agriculture officials say they will try an experimental method to rid the Worcester area of the tree-killing Asian longhorned beetles. Officials will inject about two dozen trees with a toxic level of pesticide so they can kill the beetles and cut down infected trees within the next few weeks, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported yesterday. In other US infestations, officials have waited to cut down the trees until after the first hard frost because the boring insects aren't active then and won't fly away to infest other trees. The US Department of Agriculture said the new method has been tested with success in China, where the beetles originated. Officials said the black-and-white beetles have infested at least 40 trees and that number is expected to grow. (AP)

Calling him an extreme danger to society, Judge Edwin J. Gale sentenced a Warwick man to life in prison without the possibility of parole for strangling a woman in his home two years ago. Brian Mlyniec, 45, was convicted in July of first-degree murder for killing Kelly Ann Anderson. He previously said Anderson died accidentally during a rough sexual encounter. Prosecutors say Mlyniec met Anderson at the Kennedy Plaza bus terminal in Providence, and then rode the bus with her to his home, where he strangled her. Attorney General Patrick Lynch called Mlyniec a "demented sexual predator" and said Anderson had died a "barbaric death." (AP)

Opening statements begin later this month in the trial of a Texas-based gas company accused of illegally storing containers of mercury in a vacant building in Pawtucket. A federal grand jury last year returned a three-count indictment against Southern Union. The company is accused of storing mercury in jars, buckets, and other containers. Prosecutors say Southern Union broke a federal law prohibiting the storage of hazardous waste without a proper permit. The indictment also accuses the company of failing to immediately notify emergency authorities after three teenagers broke into the building, spilled mercury, and stole containers of it. The company has denied any criminal wrongdoing. (AP)

A transsexual who says a Connecticut bar refused to allow her to sing on a karaoke night has filed a complaint with the state Liquor Commission. Michelle Merrill says a manager at the Skyline Restaurant in Windsor Locks would not let her sing on Aug. 22 because she is a transsexual. The 35-year-old Enfield resident was born a male and began sex-change procedures 10 years ago. Merrill said the manager told her other patrons complained that she used the women's bathroom and that he didn't want people like her in the bar. The restaurant's owner, Gina Pastula, denied the discrimination allegation. She declined to name the manager working that night. A Liquor Commission official confirmed that a complaint has been filed. (AP)