Scabies cases reported at day-care site

Governor Deval Patrick's chief of staff apologized yesterday for the administration's handling of a widely panned effort to hire state Senator Marian Walsh for a high-paying state job. Doug Rubin said in an e-mail to Patrick's supporters that "we clearly made mistakes" and he accepted responsibility. Rubin spent the rest of the note outlining recent administration accomplishments, including a series of announcements for distributing aid from the federal stimulus package. "I am not in any way trying to downplay the impact of the Walsh appointment," Rubin wrote. "I am trying to make the point that we have had a plan from Day One, that we are executing on that plan with real results, and that even though we make mistakes we are delivering on the change agenda." (AP)

Councilor at Large Michael F. Flaherty, a candidate for mayor, is suggesting in a letter to the Boston Redevelopment Authority that the developers of the stalled redevelopment of the Filene's site at Downtown Crossing be required to cover the hole that remains and turn the area over to the Boston Public Market Association, which wants to create a daily food market in the city. Flaherty said allowing the site to be used as a temporary location for the market could help bring more visitors to the distressed retail district. He offered the proposal in a letter to BRA director John Palmieri over the weekend.

After four days of deliberation, a Suffolk Superior Court jury found a Dorchester man guilty yesterday of first-degree murder, according to the Suffolk district attorney's office. Cornelius Brown, 34, was convicted of shooting 22-year-old Michael Wiggins as friends and relatives gathered for a barbecue near Ashton Street on July 4, 2007. The shooting occurred after Wiggins and Brown both approached a fight involving Wiggins's uncle, according to the district attorney. Brown shot Wiggins in the chest; he died six days later, the district attorney's office said. At his sentencing today, Brown is expected to receive a mandatory life term in prison, according to the DA's office.

Attorney General Martha Coakley's office yesterday sued three individuals and two companies from New Jersey, alleging that they marketed and sold fraudulent health insurance to hundreds of Massachusetts residents. According to the civil complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court, National Alliance of Associations and Professional Benefit Consultants, along with Thomas Sullivan, James Doyle, and Christopher Ashiotes, sent unsolicited faxes to Massachusetts individuals and businesses advertising discounted quality healthcare. Instead of receiving comprehensive health insurance, consumers received purported association memberships that provided a limited plan for discounts on certain medical services. Consumers were charged a nonrefundable $125 enrollment fee plus membership fees, according to Coakley's complaint.

Mitt Romney is using a baseball card to see donations to his political action committee, the Free and Strong America PAC. A check for $25 gets donors the PAC's official baseball card. Donating $75 gets both the card and a red baseball hat. Those contributing $250 get those items and a baseball autographed by the former governor. (AP)