Man, 22, found shot, dies in hospital

Fire officials briefly closed down traffic on Commonwealth Avenue yesterday evening, as they responded to an electrical fire at the Boston University College of Arts and Sciences at approximately 6 p.m. Deputy Fire Chief John Hasson said a panel in the basement of the building ignited fire because of heat conditions. Students and faculty were evacuated from the building and the surrounding area, and the small fire was quickly contained, Hason said. There were no injuries.

The US Department of Agriculture has announced a wide-scale recall of ground beef, including products sold in nine BJ’S Wholesale Club stores in Massachusetts, due to possible contamination with the bacteria Escherichia coli. The pound-size boxes of ground beef from Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. were for sale at BJ’s locations in Attleborough, Auburn, Leominster, Plymouth, Revere, Stoneham, Taunton, Waltham and Weymouth, according to federal officials. The cases, labeled “Ground Beef Fine 90/10,’’ had a use-by-or-freeze date of July 10, 2010. The USDA is also recalling meat from BJ’s stores located in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. E. Coli can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and, in severe cases, kidney failure. A call to Natick-based BJ’s Wholesale Club was not immediately returned last night.

Drivers and mechanics at the Worcester Regional Transit Authority have voted to authorize a strike if contract negotiations go sour, union officials said yesterday. The vote, taken up with the 135 members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 22, was taken as a precaution, if the authority makes a last and best contract offer before another union meeting can be held, union officials said. A meeting tomorrow with a mediator helping to sort through the contract, which ran out June 30, will help determine whether a strike will take place, said Christopher W. Bruce, a union business agent. Bruce said that the union and the authority were not close to resolving the issues delaying the negotiations.

The town canceled or rescheduled all outside activities from dusk until dawn yesterday following a diagnosis of Eastern equine encephalitis in a Middleborough man. The town also said it would continuing spraying for mosquitoes in downtown areas, near sports fields and schools. Officials in Marion and Rochester closed public parks, beaches, and ballparks after 6 p.m. since the end of July because of the threat of the virus, said Rochester health director Karen A. Walega.

A local man is scheduled to face charges today in Lawrence District Court that include operating a vehicle under the influence after a motor vehicle accident on Route 213 in Methuen Saturday night, State Police said. The crash, which occurred just before 9 p.m. at the onramp from Route 113, involved a 2010 Ford Escape driven by Steven Kurelko, 35, and a 2000 Honda Civic driven by a 52-year-old North Chelmsford woman who was taken by helicopter to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, authorities said. Her passenger, a 60-year-old woman from North Chelmsford, was taken to Tufts New England Medical Center with serious injuries. Police did not release the women’s names. Kurelko was transported to Lawrence General Hospital with minor injuries. In addition to operating under the influence, he faces charges of negligent operation and speeding. The accident is under investigation.