No-confidence vote slated on principal

The Lawrence Teachers Union is scheduled this week to take a no-confidence vote on a principal who is under fire for not properly reporting underage drinking to police. Teachers union president Frank McLaughlin said the union will take the symbolic vote Wednesday on Terika Smith, a principal of one of six academies on the Lawrence High School campus. The vote comes after the union sent a letter this month to Lawrence Superintendent Wilfredo T. Laboy complaining about Smith's management. (AP)

Police are investigating a two-vehicle crash in which one person was killed Friday afternoon on Interstate 195 East in Dartmouth. Michelle Calverley, 26, of East Falmouth, swerved and struck a truck that was parked in the breakdown lane at 1:47 p.m., State Police said. Calverley was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford where she was pronounced dead. The driver of the truck, Louis Sikorsky, 54, of Westport, was not injured. The reason Calverley's vehicle swerved is under investigation, said Lieutenant Eric Anderson, a State Police spokesman.

A man in his late 20s was found dead and covered in blood in an apartment on Ogden Street in Dorchester, Boston Police Department spokesman Eddy Chrispin said. Police received a call reporting the discovery of a body at 8:02 p.m. yesterday and found the man dead when they arrived shortly thereafter. Chrispin said the cause of the man's death was unknown and he had no more information.

Advocates for the developmentally disabled say words do matter. That is why they are hailing an impending name change at a state agency. Lawmakers and advocates will celebrate a decision tomorrow to change the name of the Department of Mental Retardation to the Department of Developmental Services. The Arc of Massachusetts, which serves and advocates for people with mental and developmental disabilities, says the word "retarded" is often used as an epithet. The new name will take effect June 30. (AP)

A Massachusetts man has been arrested on charges that he peeked at a woman dressing in a Nashua store. Police told WMUR Friday that Noe Guidel Regalado of Waltham, Mass., is charged with lying on the floor and looking into a fitting room at Kohls. Police said the woman did not see him, but her mother spotted a man lying on the floor looking into the changing room. Police said Guidel Regalado was arrested in Natick, Mass., in January on similar charges. (AP)

The committee that crunches budget numbers for Conway is facing some grim statistics when it comes its own membership: It is about to have six open seats, but only one person has signed up to run in next month's election. Melissa Stacey, chairwoman of the Municipal Budget Committee, said the deadline to sign up has passed, but people still can be elected as write-in candidates. (AP)

Ice anglers beware: Bobhouses must be off the ice in New Hampshire by Wednesday, lest you find out if they really can bob. Under state law, the ice fishing houses must be removed by April 1. The Fish and Game Department says the law is designed to ensure that bobhouses don't fall through the ice, becoming a hazard to boaters. (AP)

A 5-cent per gallon increase in Vermont's taxes on gasoline and diesel has cleared two House committees and is headed for a third. Backers say the new assessment would enable the state to issue $120 million in revenue bonds during the next three years for a bridge maintenance program. (AP)