E. coli found in city water supply

WOBURN
Municipal officials yesterday advised residents to boil their water after routine testing of the city's water supply showed traces of E. coli, which can cause intestinal illness, including cramps, nausea, and diarrhea. A representative from the Water Department said the bacteria, which may indicate the supply has been contaminated by human or animal waste, were found in a hydrant near the Rag Rock water tank. The Water Department plans to drain the tank to determine the cause. The contaminated sample was collected Wednesday.

WASHINGTON

US Senator Edward M. Kennedy introduced a bill Thursday that would impose stricter penalties for falsifying terrorist acts and expand the list of punishable offenses. Kennedy, along with Senators Norm Coleman , a Minnesota Republican, and Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, introduced the bill in an effort to "prevent the perpetuation of future terrorist hoaxes," according to a statement. Laura Capps , a spokeswoman for Kennedy, said the legislation was a result of the Cartoon Network ad campaign that triggered a bomb scare and sparked an emergency response that shut down bridges and roadways in and around the city Jan. 31 .

BOSTON

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is recommending an average 6.4 percent increase in water and sewer rates. The average household would see an annual increase of about $30 under the proposed hike, which would affect the 60 cities and towns in the metropolitan Boston area served by the MWRA. Governor Deval Patrick has been pushing for the state to cut its water and sewer rate subsidies to the agency from $25 million to $15 million. Last year the authority recommended a 9.8 percent hike, but an increase of 4.9 percent was eventually approved by the authority's directors. (AP)

Police announced yesterday that they are looking for a 21-year-old Dorchester man in connection with the slaying last month of a teenager in a Roxbury convenience store. Jose M. Delacruz is being sought on murder charges for allegedly shooting Tyrice Brown, 18, of Roxbury shortly before 3 a.m. on Feb. 8 at the store on the corner of Warren Street and Blue Hill Avenue. Brown was a senior at Monument High School in South Boston. Police said Delacruz should be considered armed and dangerous. Investigators are asking anyone with information about the killing to call an anonymous tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS.

A homeless man was arrested on larceny charges after MBTA officials spotted him on surveillance cameras, changing clothes and trying to stuff more than $3,000 in cash into his pockets at a Silver Line MBTA station Monday night, officials said. Hakim Williams , 48 , pleaded not guilty in East Boston District Court Tuesday. Williams allegedly grabbed a deposit envelope containing $3,050 from a state lottery kiosk in Terminal C at Logan Airport while the clerk was distracted at 8 p.m. Monday, the Suffolk district attorney's office said.

Authorities are investigating why a child was wandering alone in the South End last night. The 4-year-old, whose name was not released, was found by a passerby along Washington and East Berkeley streets about 6:30 p.m., said Denise Monteiro, of the state Department of Social Services. The child was taken to Boston Medical Center and DSS officials were at the hospital last night with the mother and child , Monteiro said.

BOSCAWEN, N.H.

A woman was shot to death and another person was injured yesterday as a man inside a house held off police before releasing a boy with a gunshot wound, authorities said yesterday. When police entered the house, the man was dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Neighbors said they believed the shootings were the result of a custody dispute. Police responded to reports of a shooting late in the afternoon, and found two adults; one, a woman, died a short time later, authorities said. They then learned that a man was holed up inside a house with the boy, who was about 10 years old. State Police SWAT teams surrounded the house and tried to communicate with the man, but were unsuccessful. About 9:30 p.m., the boy walked out of the house wounded. Authorities said he was in critical condition at Concord Hospital. (AP)