Street designation to honor late firefighter

Three Boston banks were robbed yesterday afternoon in less than an hour, but police do not believe the crimes are related. The First Trade Union Bank at 753 East Broadway in South Boston was robbed at 1:36 p.m. by a man who said he had a weapon, but did not show one, then fled on foot, said Officer James Kenneally, a spokesman for Boston police. At 2:02 p.m., the Hyde Park Savings Bank at 1920 Centre St. in West Roxbury was robbed. No weapon was shown, and the male suspect fled on foot, Kenneally said. At 2:25 p.m., the Citizens Bank at 696 Centre St. in Jamaica Plain was robbed by a male who passed a note and then ran off with the money, police said. It was unclear how much money was taken in the robberies.

The board of the Massachusetts Port Authority voted yesterday to transfer the Tobin Bridge to the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The bridge spans the Mystic River and is a main artery for North Shore commuters to Boston. The vote was the final procedural step before the 2 1/4-mile-long span changes ownership at midnight, Jan. 1, 2010. The transfer was part of the transportation bureaucracy overhaul that went into effect Nov. 1. Massport has operated the 60-year-old bridge for the last 50 years. Massport will not receive compensation for the bridge, and all bridge liabilities will transfer to MassDOT. (AP)

Police are searching for a man who punched a female jogger in the face on the Tufts University campus earlier this week. A 27-year-old Medford woman was jogging on a walkway near the edge of campus and Colby Street when a man allegedly grabbed her arm and punched her in the face, said Medford police Lieutenant Paul Covino. The victim, who is not affiliated with Tufts, received scratches and a minor injury to her right eye, but refused medical attention, officials said. The suspect was described as a 5-foot-11 male in his mid-20s with a dark jacket and light blue baseball cap.

Voters at a special Town Meeting approved funds last night for a new high school, a day after the school won approval at the polls. Town Meeting voters approved the $70.8 million school 1,481 to 95, with one abstention. The state will reimburse part of the project. The town’s share will be $45.8 million, including funds already spent on a feasibility study and preliminary design. The project calls for a 100,000-square-foot classroom building, a 54,000-square-foot commons building, and renovation of the school’s field house. School officials hope the buildings will be open for the start of the 2012-2013 school year.

An eighth-grade teacher in Dracut was surprised yesterday with a $25,000 bonus as part of the 2009 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award. Rebecca Duda, who teaches eighth-grade history and social studies at Lakeview Junior High School, was named the state’s 37th Milken Award winner. Duda, one of 53 recipients nationwide, was nominated by her colleagues.