New England in brief
BOSTON
State Representative Marie St. Fleur will not seek reelection to the seat she has held since 1999, a statement from her office yesterday said. St. Fleur, a Democrat who represents parts of Dorchester and Roxbury, did not give a reason for her decision. St. Fleur’s release said she was the first Haitian-American elected to a state Legislature in the United States, and the first woman and first African-American in the Massachusetts Legislature to serve as vice chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee.High school athlete shot with BB gun
A high school track and field athlete was shot in the head with a BB gun last night while warming up for a race outside the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury. The 17-year-old boy was jogging near Shawmut Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard when an unidentified male in his late teens or early 20s shot him shortly before 6:20 p.m., according to the police report. Boston police spokesman Eddy Chrispin said the youth was transported to Children’s Hospital Boston and treated for an abrasion. Details on his condition were not immediately available last night.Retrial to begin in 2007 murder case
A retrial is set to begin for two Boston men accused of killing an innocent bystander who was on a rival gang’s turf. Antwan Carter and Daniel Pinckney are charged with first-degree murder in the March 2007 death of 28-year-old Cedirick Steele. A mistrial was declared in September after a jury deliberated seven days. Jury selection in the retrial is scheduled to begin Tuesday. Authorities say Carter shot Steele on Pinckney’s orders as Steele waited at a bus stop in Roxbury. They say the shots were meant for a group believed to be rivals who had shot at Pinckney earlier that day. Steele was a college student with no gang ties. Lawyers for Carter and Pinckney have said their clients weren’t involved in the shooting. (AP)Bill adds protections for bluefin tuna
The state’s supply of bluefin tuna would receive added protections under a bill set for a public hearing at the State House this week. The bill would create a special commission to study the bluefin tuna fishery in Massachusetts’ coastal waters. The commission would look at ways to promote the continued viability of the species and restore a significant population of giant bluefin tuna. It would also examine the economic and biological impacts of different fishing techniques, such as hook and line and traditional harpooning. The bill is one of dozens set for a Thursday public hearing before the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture. (AP)About $10k in fire damage at MSPCA site
A fire at the headquarters of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Jamaica Plain early yesterday caused about $10,000 in damage, fire officials said. The building includes the Angell Animal Medical Center, which houses hundreds of ailing animals, but no people or animals were hurt, officials said. Firefighters rushed to the scene on South Huntington Avenue just after midnight and doused the fire in about an hour, said Steve MacDonald, a Boston Fire Department spokesman.PROVIDENCE
Stop & Shop, union fail to reach new pact
Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. failed to reach an agreement on a new contract last night with a union representing thousands of employees in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Workers may authorize a strike today at meetings in all three states, according to Jim Carvalho, a spokesman for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445, which represents about 10,000 employees in Eastern Massachusetts. If workers vote to strike, union leaders could set a date for a work stoppage as early as tomorrow, Carvalho said. The unions and the company plan to resume talks this week.
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