Fire rescue truck breaks down en route

A Fire Department rescue truck broke down yesterday in Roxbury after experiencing a problem with its throttle as it responded to a report of smoke in a building, according to a department spokesman. The box truck broke down near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. The truck glided to a stop only a block from the Fire Department's maintenance shop. Mechanics went to the scene and made a temporary repair that allowed it to be driven to the shop. The truck, Rescue 2, was responding just before noon to an address on Seaver Street in Roxbury, but there was no fire, Department spokesman Steven MacDonald said.

The lesbian couple who led the fight for gay marriage in Massachusetts is filing for divorce. Julie and Hillary Goodridge were among seven gay couples whose lawsuit, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, thrust Massachusetts into the center of a nationwide debate on gay marriage. The couple became the public face of the debate in the state, the first to legalize same-sex marriages. The couple was married on May 17, 2004, the first day same-sex marriages became legal under a court ruling. Their daughter served as ring-bearer. The divorce filing is not unexpected; the couple announced in 2006 they were separating. A clerk for Suffolk Probate and Family Court said the case, filed last week, is impounded. (AP)

A Massachusetts man who took his son to Israel last year in violation of a custody agreement has pleaded guilty to making a false statement on a passport application for the boy. Eric Hyett, 38, of Brookline pleaded guilty yesterday and could face up to 10 years in prison at his April 28 sentencing, the US attorney's office in Boston said. Hyatt married Joshua Glazer in Massachusetts in 2004, and they adopted the boy. Prosecutors said the men separated after moving to New York and had joint child custody. Hyatt took the 2-year-old to Israel last August in violation of the agreement. He later pleaded guilty in New York to custodial interference. (AP)

A Swansea man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of killing another man in a drug dispute. Derek Woollam was convicted by a Taunton Superior Court jury Monday after a seven-day trial and two hours of deliberations. Authorities say Woollam, 26, shot John Oliveira in July 2006 after the two had a dispute over rules associated with an illegal marijuana distribution operation. The trial was the first of five previously unsolved cases that Bristol District Attorney Sam Sutter vowed to bring to trial when he was elected. (AP)

Quincy College has taken another step toward independence. One of the nation's last municipally-owned colleges, the school is seeking to legally separate from the City of Quincy. The move, in planning for several years, needs approval of the mayor, the City Council, and the state Legislature. College president Martha Sue Harris told The Patriot-Ledger that the school hopes to be fully independent by July 2011. Mayor Thomas Koch supports the separation. The school opened as Quincy Junior College in 1958. It has been financially self-sufficient for more than 25 years, but remains a city department governed by a 13-member board. (AP)

A new political party in Rhode Island is challenging a state law it asserts is delaying the group from fund-raising and becoming formally recognized. The Moderate Party of Rhode Island said in a federal lawsuit filed yesterday that it has been barred under state law from collecting signatures to be recognized as a political party or raising money until 2010. The law says new political parties must wait until years when there is a statewide election to fund-raise. The Moderate Party endorsed more than 10 legislative candidates last year. (AP)