EMTs agree to mayor's pay freeze request

Boston Emergency Medical Services workers have agreed to forgo their contracted wage increases for the next fiscal year, making them the third union in the city to accept Mayor Thomas M. Menino's request for employees to accept a salary freeze as a cost-cutting measure that could help save jobs. The Boston School Police Association and the Boston Superior Officers Federation have also agreed to the request, which could save 900 jobs if all of the city's 17,000 employees agree. Menino has said the wage freeze is one of the few ways to help plug a $140 million budget gap for the next fiscal year. The salary freeze could save about $60 million. Unions have been reluctant to agree to the request without a guarantee that their employees will not face layoffs, something the mayor has said he cannot promise.

A 6-year-old girl collapsed during gym class at an East Boston school after suffering a heart problem, city officials and the school's principal said yesterday. The unidentified girl was in stable but critical condition at Massachusetts General Hospital, said Maryann Manfredonia, principal of East Boston Central Catholic School. She said the girl, who was dribbling a basketball, did not have any known medical conditions. Rescuers responded to the school at 12:47 p.m. The girl had suffered a "cardiac incident," said EMS spokeswoman Jennifer Mehigan.

Police have identified the man who was found shot to death Wednesday night in the first-floor hallway of a Back Bay building as Thomas Speed, 38, of Quincy. Speed was found suffering from a gunshot wound after officers responded to 18 Trotter Court at about 8:11 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police urge anyone with information about the homicide to contact them at 617-343-4470. Those wishing to provide information anonymously can call the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or text "TIP" to CRIME (27463).

Three Winthrop teens, two of whom are twins, were arraigned Tuesday in East Boston District Court on charges of beating and stabbing two brothers, aged 16 and 13, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said. The stabbing took place Monday around 9 p.m. on Trident Avenue in Winthrop. The unidentified brothers suffered chest wounds and were treated at Massachusetts General Hospital, where the younger brother had surgery for a wound just inches from his heart. John and Michael Walker, 17, were charged with two counts of aggravated assault and battery and assault with intent to murder. James Murray, also 17, was charged with two counts of assault and battery.

An elderly woman has died because of injuries suffered in a house fire, becoming the third town resident to die because of a fire this week. A spokeswoman at Brigham and Women's Hospital said 77-year-old Delia Sutcliffe died Thursday. She was pulled this week from her burning home and airlifted to a Boston hospital with severe injuries. Her death came the same day 77-year-old Edward Tavares and 69-year-old Maria Rosa Tavares died in another Plymouth house fire. Authorities believe the fire at Sutcliffe's home likely was sparked by an electrical malfunction. (AP)

A former worker at a Sudbury nursing home has been charged with sexually molesting a patient while another patient slept in the same room. Prosecutors said at Thursday's arraignment in Framingham District Court that 46-year-old Kofi Agana sexually assaulted the 62-year-old woman who had recently suffered a stroke at Sudbury Pines Extended Care last week. Agana, who has since been fired, had worked there as an aide since August. The assault was discovered when another aide noticed the victim acting strangely toward Agana. Agana was held on $500 bail after pleading not guilty. His lawyer, Robert Canty, said police asked the alleged victim leading questions and her ability to communicate has been limited by her stroke. (AP)