New England in brief
BOSTON
A group of undocumented students and their advocates have launched a round-the-clock vigil outside the State House to protest a state Senate budget amendment calling for stricter measures aimed at illegal immigrants. Members of the Student Immigrant Movement began their vigil Monday, vowing to sleep at the State House until the Senate withdraws the amendment or Governor Deval Patrick vetoes it. The measure passed last month would require companies doing business with the state to verify their workers are in the country legally. The measure still must survive negotiations between Senate and House, which narrowly rejected a similar amendment. (AP)LOWELL
UMass begins work on technology center
The University of Massachusetts Lowell began work yesterday on a $70 million facility the school hopes will attract researchers from around the world. The 84,000-square-foot Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center is slated to be completed in 2012 and is expected to create hundreds of permanent jobs and about 400 temporary construction jobs. At the groundbreaking, Governor Deval Patrick said the research and development in life sciences and other fields to take place at the center are important to the state’s future. (AP)GREAT BARRINGTON
Bones found by boy may be human
Authorities say a forensic anthropologist is being asked to examine bones that a boy found in sand along a Great Barrington riverbank. Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless said an official in the Holyoke office of the chief medical examiner has made a preliminary determination the bones might be human. They are being sent to the main office in Boston for examination. Capeless said that the boy found the bones Monday night and dug them up and that he and his mother took them to Great Barrington police. (AP)HAVERHILL
Ousted official interviewed for schools job
Wilfredo Laboy, the recently fired superintendent of Lawrence schools who is facing fraud and embezzlement charges, has applied to be interim school chief in Haverhill. The Eagle-Tribune reported yesterday that a search committee of Haverhill school officials interviewed Laboy, 59, in a closed session Monday. The 59-year-old educator and other applicants are being interviewed this week to fill in for outgoing Superintendent Raleigh Buchanan. Mayor James J. Fiorentini, also a member of the search committee, said last night that three finalists were selected for the position and that Laboy was not among them. He was ousted this spring and has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and embezzlement after allegedly using School Department employees and resources for his own purposes. (AP)SPRINGFIELD
City fines would target texting drivers
Springfield has taken a step toward banning texting while driving. The City Council passed a home rule petition by a 12-1 margin Monday that would allow police to ticket any motorist who sends or receives text messages while behind the wheel. The resolution calls for a $100 fine for a first offense, $200 for a second offense, and $300 for third or subsequent offenses. The measure was proposed by Councilor Jimmy Ferrera, who says texting while driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk. He says he hopes enough communities pass laws to spur lawmakers into passing a statewide ban. If the mayor approves the resolution, it would still need approval by the Legislature. (AP)WOBURN
Man convicted of luring girl, 12, on Web
A Virginia man accused of traveling to Massachusetts to help a 12-year-old girl he met on the Internet run away so he could have sex with her has been found guilty. Daniel O’Brien of Richmond was convicted Monday in Middlesex Superior Court of attempted kidnapping and child enticement. Sentencing was scheduled for June 29. Prosecutors say he traveled to Littleton last November soon after contacting the girl on the Internet and intended to bring her back to Virginia and have sex with her. O’Brien’s lawyer argued at trial that because he never met the girl, he did not commit a crime. (AP)
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