GOP seeks control board for Lawrence

A Gloucester man was convicted yesterday of violating the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act after hitting two humpback whales with his fishing boat in a national marine reserve in Massachusetts Bay, the US attorney’s office said. Christopher Jacques, 42, was fined $200, according to a statement from US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. Witnesses on nearby whale boats said they saw Jacques drive his recreational fishing boat through a “bubble cloud’’ created by feeding whales in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in July 2008 and hit two whales.

A Shirley man accused of stabbing his former girlfriend to death has been indicted on murder and other charges. The Middlesex district attorney’s office said Robert Gulla, 19, was indicted Friday on charges of first-degree murder, violation of a restraining order, and three counts of assault and battery. Prosecutors said Gulla fatally stabbed Allison Myrick, 19, at his home Jan. 23 and tried to hurt himself. Myrick, a Fitchburg State College student, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities as well as Myrick’s family said the student was involved in an abusive relationship. Gulla pleaded not guilty at his district court arraignment and is being held without bail. (AP)

A 57-year-old woman from Martha’s Vineyard was killed in a fiery single-car accident on Interstate 495 in Wareham last night, State Police said. The woman, who was from Oak Bluffs on the Vineyard, was driving a 2004 Jeep southbound when it went off the road a half-mile north of Exit 1 into a wooded area at 8:10 p.m., Trooper Thomas Murphy said. The car caught fire, and the Wareham Fire Department was called in to extinguish the blaze, he said. State Police believe there was only one person in the car at the time, Murphy said. State Police did not release the name of the victim pending family notification.

Police said a young boy who drowned after falling into the Mousam River in southern Maine was a 4-year-old from New Hampshire. Sanford police identified the boy yesterday as Aiden Finch of Dover, N.H. Aiden drowned Saturday after falling into the river while walking with his parents on a popular hiking trail. The Sanford Fire Department told the Portland Press Herald that the boy slipped and fell into the water and was swept down the fast-moving river, swollen from recent rains and melting snow. The boy’s mother jumped in to save him and brought him to shore, but officials said he could not be revived. (AP)

Vermont Secretary of State Deb Markowitz kicked off her campaign for governor yesterday by telling supporters she is in it to win. At a noontime rally before a crowd of about 80 supporters in Barre, the Montpelier resident vowed to end what she calls political gridlock at the State House and to bring high-speed Internet service to all corners of the state. Markowitz, 48, has won six straight elections since becoming secretary of state and is one of five Democrats seeking the nomination to run for the seat being vacated by Governor Jim Douglas, a Republican, who is not seeking reelection. The only Republican candidate is Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie. (AP)