By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

Mystic Valley Regional Charter School has hired a new executive director, the school announced.

Martin Trice, formerly head of school at the South Shore Christian Academy in Weymouth, replaces Joseph McCleary, who effectively retired at the beginning of this school year.

Trice, who has 25 years of teaching experience, has worked at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels.

His career began in 1982 at Rockland High School as an AP psychology teacher, and continued in 1987 at Lexington Christian Academy, where he moved into administration, eventually serving at Dean of Students.

In 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union, Trice served as consultant to he Ministry of Education in the Republic of Armenia.

The consultancy work was followed by a five-year stint as a vice president and faculty member at Eastern Nazarene College.

“Mr. Trice brings more than 25 years of education experience at all levels to Mystic Valley including international experience and we believe this experience will provide the school with the ability to reach an even higher level of excellence in the coming years,” stated Neil Kinnon, chairman of the Board of Trustees, in a statement.
 
In a welcoming message delivered to the Mystic Valley faculty and staff, Trice said “I am thrilled to be joining the Mystic Valley school community.  This school has accomplished much in a short period of time.  I come with a deep sense of responsibility to carry on the traditions that have made Mystic Valley one of our state’s and even nation’s finest schools."

Turner Photography

The following individuals will be recognized for their service to the Malden community on June 14 at the Chamber of Commerce Shining Stars Awards Banquet at Anthony’s of Malden (from left to right): Kevin Duffy, City of Malden; President’s Award; Arthur Kahn, Gemologist; Executive Director’s Award; Diane Portnoy, Immigrant Learning Center; Community Service Award; Dr. George Holland; Diamond Award; Albert Sparks, Sparks Department Stores; Lifetime Achievement Award; Philip Bronder-Giroux, Tri-City Community Action Program; Human Service Award.

Thursday, May 31:

5:21 p.m. A white female stole a Nintendo 3DS (valued at $150) from the Game Stop at 270 Essex Street. Police were unable to locate a suspect.

6:43 p.m. Police responded to a domestic disturbance at 11 Beacon Street.

7:49 p.m. Police responded to a report of possible animal abuse concerning a dog at 22 Cabot Street.

8:00 p.m. Officers responded to a domestic dispute at 12 Grafton Street.

8:35 p.m. A woman was advised not to loiter in the area in front of Arge's Liquors at 18 Boston Street.

9:39 p.m. Police responded to a domestic dispute at 5 Buffum Street.

11:22 p.m. Police responded to a report of a mountain bike that was stolen from the pedestrian mall on Essex Street sometime between 6 and 9 p.m.

Friday, June 1:

12:49 a.m. Two men attempting to order food from the Wendy's drive-thru at 91 Lafayette Street on foot were sent on their way by officers.

7:38 a.m. Police responded to a report of a dead seal on the beach at 32 Clifton Street.

8:06 a.m. A homeless person attempted to walk away with one of the day care's baby strollers at the YMCA at 1 Sewall Street.

Arrests:

Eric Cripps, of 188 Ocean Avenue, was arrested for disturbing the peace.

Mark Edmunds, 18 Leach Street, was arrested for disturbing the peace.

Madison Fuher, of 18 Leach Street, was arrested for disturbing the peace.

Justin Lopes, of 18 Leach Street, was arrested for disturbing the peace.

Joseph Fiandaca, homeless, was arrested for breaking and entering, malicious destruction of property over $25, and a warrant.

Briam Gomez, of 80 Newton Avenue in Lynn, was arrested on the basis of a warrant.

Nathan Harrington, of 19 Davis Road in Beverly was arrested on a pair of warrants.

Robert Hogan, homeless, was arrested for drinking in public.

Jean Salois, homeless, was arrested for drinking in public.

Carlos Silva, of 11 Felt Street, was arrested for domestic assault and battery.

James Silva, homeless, was arrested on the basis of a warrant.

Michael Worthley, of 250 Washington Street, was arrested for drinking in public.

Amanda Elwell, of 121 Central Street in Peabody, was arrested on two warrants and possession of a Class A substance.

Jonathan Fisher, of 9 Walnut Street in Lakeville, was arrested for OUI and driving to endanger.

The following was submitted by the Middlesex Fells Dog Owner Group:

Dog Play, a video and discussion, will be held Tuesday, June 12 from 7-9 p.m. at the Middlesex Fells Reservation's Botume House, 4 Woodland Road, Stoneham.

Watch and discuss videos of dogs with Liz Shaw, CPDT-KA, owner of Magical Mutt. Liz will help us better understand canine social behavior and learn to distinguish between healthy play among dogs and interactions between dogs who may not be having such a good time.

Please make other arrangements for your canine companions!

For more information, go to www.fellsdog.org.

Co-valedictorian Rebecca Liberman speaks at Milton High School's graduation. Photo by Natalie Feulner

By Natalie Feulner, Town Correspondent

Friends and families filled the Milton High School fieldhouse Sunday to congratulate the school’s 142nd graduating class of nearly 250 students.

The mood was celebratory, and speaker after speaker encouraged the seniors to focus their attention on what lay ahead and the path they each will take during the coming years. However, they also urged the students to enjoy an evening.

“There are very few times in life you get to have a day off,” School Committee Chairman Glenn Pavlicek said. “So, take today off and enjoy it.”

Co-valedictorians Laura Hess and Rebecca Liberman told their classmates to celebrate the day, pave their own paths in life, and to always remain open to change.

“We have every reason to be proud,” Hess said.

Liberman, after cracking a few jokes about old milk, wearing hats, and the morning announcements turned her speech more serious. She explained that despite criticism she received about her decision to study music after high school, she was accepted to and will attend Berklee College in the fall.

“Do not follow stereotypes or let others say what you should do," she said with a big smile. "Lay your own destiny and lay it with bricks of happiness"

Class President Derek Curley garnered a big applause when he pointed out that the class of 2012 was the first graduating class to have seen all of Boston’s professional sports teams in league championships.

However, it was Principal Joe Arangio who pulled off the most laughs from students and parents alike as he read through his 22 tips for life - some funny, others serious, but all with a little tongue and cheek.

A few included: “Don’t worry so much about appearances - a mule dressed in a tuxedo or a ballgown is still a mule;” “Be nice to nerds because chances are you will end up working for one;” “Always be diplomatic - when your parents ask you how long you plan on living with them - lie;” and “Recycle, vote, pay your taxes, and replace your parents gas when you use the car.”

And with that, the presentation of diplomas began and each red or white clad student, always bearing a smile, walked across the stage and shook hands with the principal.

And with Arangio’s final declaration of their graduation, the hundreds of students threw red and white caps into the air, stood and cheered on chairs, and hugged one another in joy to the band’s rendition of James D. Ployhar’s “Fanfare and Recessional.”

Natalie Feulner can be reached at natalie.feulner@gmail.com.

Natick High School seniors reflect on their high school experience during the national anthem.

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

Threatening rain clouds did little to dampen Natick High School seniors’ spirits as they walked along the newly-constructed Memorial Field Sunday afternoon to receive their diplomas.

However, students did note their turbulent high school experience, citing endless construction for a school building they will never use, traditional upperclassmen privileges continuously lost, and two classmate deaths in the past year and a half.

“Like someone wrote down at Dug Pond, we are ‘Shafted ’12,’” said class president Benjamin Collins, referring to a prank graffiti strike this spring objecting to school changes.

The 295 seniors mark the end of a Natick era, as they are the last class to graduate from the current 58-year-old high school. The town’s new $78.5 million high school is slated to open this coming September.

“We are the last without heat in the winter, we are the last to perform on that stage, we are the last of the Red and Blue, and the last to love old Natick High,” Collins said, adding that seniors kept mum when it came to complaining about their school’s failing physical condition.

The joyous ceremony also felt sadness, as students remembered classmate and hockey player Justin Bailey, a senior who died suddenly in January, and Ayesha Chauhan, who died in March 2011 after battling cancer.

“Although Justin and Ayesha left us earlier than they should have, their spirits and smiles will live on with the precious memories we have of them,” Collins said.

“Throught the tragic loss of Ayesha and Justin, we have learned so much,” said senior speaker Harsha Amaravadi. “We have grown closer and changed perspective. Remember to never forget.”

The seniors, clad in royal blue caps and robes – some with golden stoles to mark academic achievements – sat nervously on the field, occasionally glancing up at the darkening rain clouds as school administrators bestowed words of wisdom.

“We hope in time, you will come to recognize that loving what you do, loving who you’re with, and having something to hope for is the most essential for finding happiness in life,” said Natick Superintendent Peter Sanchioni.

The class of 2012 also met challenges with maturity and respectfulness, said Natick High School Principal Rose Bertucci.

“Always remember the laughter and the good times you shared, and that the people around you are there for a reason, so cherish them,” Bertucci said. “Remember to respect yourself and others, continue to make good decisions, and look out for the best interests for your family and friends.”

Of the graduating students, 95 percent will go on to college, Bertucci said.

She said students will attend 122 institutions over 27 different states. Five students will pursue an Ivy League education, and many more will go on to prestigious universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, John Hopkins University and New York University.

“I hope you reflect on your school years in Natick and remember us fondly as you meet future goals and live a productive, successful, and happy life,” Bertucci told the new graduates.

And as the seniors remembered bothersome experiences like losing open-campus privileges to new class scheduling, a ban on iPods and other entertaining personal technology, the demolition their beloved school’s B wing, and surrendering a parking lot for those who drive each morning, the graduating students seemed ready and willing to put the past behind them.

“Sure, it could have been easier, but life isn’t easy and the real world isn’t fair,” Collins said. “We didn’t have a red carpet laid out for us, but I’m glad we didn’t, because we’re better for it.”

--
Follow us on Twitter: @yourtownnatick, @jaclynreiss

Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com

After the last diploma is presented, graduates in Hingham High's Class of 2012 toss their caps into the air.

Click here to see photos from the ceremony.

The gymnasium at Braintree High School was a sea of blue and white Saturday, for the graudation of the Class of 2012.

Click here to see photos from the event.

A Boston Globe photo gallery

The unorthodox features of the historic French’s Common baseball field in Braintree, such as the giant tree down the third base line, give a decided home field advantage to Archbishop Williams High.

French's Common isn't the only ball field in the area where the ground rules require a lot of local knowledge. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Jessica Bartlett

(Above) Cancer patient James Joseph Gordon received a standing ovation as he walked across the stage to get his diploma. (Left) Class speaker Kevin Minassain gets standing ovation

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Hingham High School’s graduation was an emotional one for the more than 260 students and 1,000 observers Saturday, as the stark realities of life crept into the speeches and recognitions given by the student body.

Senior Kevin Minassain, who will attend New England College in New Hampshire, took to the stage in Hingham High’s gymnasium, where the ceremony was being held to escape the rain.

Speaking about his mother, Minassain detailed how a car accident in 1995 left her with severe brain damage and in a deep depression. He outlined the struggles she dealt with for a year, until one day, she put her son to bed, and left the house in the family’s car. The car was found at Wellfleet beach four days after her disappearance, yet she was never seen again.

“Throughout this experience, I have learned numerous lessons. One is to never take anyone for granted…I have also learned to treat every goodbye as if it is the last, because you honestly do not know if it will be,” he said. “I know that many graduation speeches focus on the tomorrow, what’s ahead, the future. However, I am here to remind you to be grateful for today.”

Later, senior James Joseph Gordon received a standing ovation as he walked across the stage to get his diploma.

Gordon was diagnosed with Stage III metastatic testicular cancer two months ago, shortly after his hockey team fell to champion Malden Catholic in the state’s Super 8 tournament.

Despite the somber moments of reflection, there was still an air of celebration to the day.

Valedictorian Ariana Kam, who will attend Harvard in the fall, read a speech she had written in rhyme.

“But before we rush off in search of success/ as most of us are already half-way out the door/ realize that the people we are so prone to forget/ won’t be our moorings anymore./ Because after today, they’re closing those corridors,” she wrote.

Although the Class of 2012 is leaving, she said, she urged her peers to create and to leap headfirst into the future.

“Some of you won’t achieve what you envisioned…you might achieve something even better,” she said.

Hingham High Principal Paula Girouard McCann also detailed the class’s accomplishments. Over 230 people received $295,000 in scholarships, she said, and students have excelled in everything from academics, to athletics, to performances on the stage.

Approximately 56 percent of the student body participated in athletics, 26 teams reached the postseason, and eight made it to league championships – including the track team that missed a portion of graduation for a meet.

As great as the accomplishments have been, however, School Committee Chair Caryl Falvey said the greatest thing the class had done was to be kind to one another.

She urged them to stay involved, and to pass the gift of education – the greatest gift you can give – to future generations.

Jessica Bartlett

(From left) Salutatorian Margaret Reagan and Valedictorian Victoria Machado stand at the start of graduation

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Approximately 360 students graduated from Braintree High School on Saturday, where the graduates walked across a makeshift stage on the floor of the gymnasium to avoid the downpour outdoors.

Parents and family crowded into the room as well, some watching from a live feed in the smaller auditorium. Officials estimated that over 2,000 people came to the event.

Despite the rain outside, it was a festive indoors, with students joking about the future as they spoke words of wisdom to their classmates.

Matthew Harrington, the Wamps class president who will attend Plymouth State University in the fall, joked that the students may still be immature, but that they were ready to move on to the future.

Margaret Reagon, Braintree’s salutatorian, who will attend MIT in the fall, told her classmates that nothing will compare to this day.

“Finally we’re done with high school… [but] whether you loved high school or hated it, this is not the end of your education,” she said. “Take what you have learned here and expand it.”

For Valedictorian Victoria Machado, who will attend Harvard in the fall, graduating has meant a new beginning.

“I want you to remember what it feels like to be 17 or 18 years old and at the same time brand new. Remember high school – all of it,” she said.

Urging her classmates to remember, she spoke of the challenges yet to come in life, but said that having these memories would help her classmates get through them.

The ceremony recognized not only the seniors, but also Headmaster David Swanton, who will retire this year after 34 years as an educator.

“You will be missed,” said the students presenting the class gift as well as a memento to Swanton.

Superintendent Peter Kurzberg acknowledged the many roles Swanton has had at Braintree High, from being a student all the way to working up at headmaster.

Kurzberg went on to speak about the standard Braintree High graduates had set. Just by looking at the schools the graduates will attend, it was clear he wasn’t exaggerating.

Scholarship recipients alone will go to such institutions as George Washington University, Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Services, Boston University, Brown, Holy Cross, Simmons, Suffolk, Vollanova, McGill, Harvard, Stonehill, Bently, Emmanuel, UMass Amherst.

“You represent the best and future of this community, but of the country as well,” he said.

Over 90 percent of the student body will go on to higher education, officials said. Nine classmates will go into the armed forces.

By Bob Holmes, Globe Staff

Xaverian's Maurice Hurst announced via twitter that he has verbally committed to attend and play football at the University of Michigan. The Canton resident is expected to play defensive tackle for the Wolverines.

"I'm happy for him,'' said Xaverian coach and athletic director Charlie Stevenson. "It's something that he's worked very hard to achieve.''

The 6-2, 270-pound Hurst has one year left at Xaverian, where he was a Catholic Conference All-Star for the Hawks.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

A Weymouth man was arrested in Hingham on Thursday after allegedly driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

According to police, at 6:36 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to a report of a hit-and- run crash at the intersection of Main Street and Middle Street.

The victim reported that she was stopped at the intersection when her van was hit from behind. The driver that hit her stepped out, told her they needed to exchange information, but then climbed back into his vehicle and drove away, she said.

The victim, a Hingham woman who had three children in the car at the time, said the driver was staggering on his feet.

The vehicle fled onto School Street, the victim said, and she gave police a description of the car and its license plate.

Officers began checking the area, including inside nearby Wompatuck State Park.

An officer was soon flagged down by another motorist in the park, who said that a vehicle the same description of the suspect’s almost struck him and another vehicle as it drove farther into the park.

Officers found the vehicle in the park and spoke to the driver. His speech was slurred, his eyes were red, and he smelled strongly of alcoholic beverage, police said.

According to police, the suspect admitted he had been in a crash, but said it was in Weymouth and that he had “worked it out with the other guy.” The suspect admitted to drinking a couple of beers.

Police searched the car, and said they found a half-empty bottle of schnapps, an empty bottle of vodka, two empty beer cans, an unopened bottle of wine, a cooler full of iced beers, and several types of prescription pills, for which the suspect had no prescription.

After several field sobriety tests, Arthur Sullivan III, 49, from Weymouth, was arrested, police said, and the vehicle was towed.

Police said the suspect had a “Z” restriction on his license, which requires an ignition interlock device in the car. Although the man had the device in the car, it was unplugged and not working. The man admitted that he removed it several days earlier, police said.

As a result, Sullivan was charged with OUI alcohol – third offense, tampering with an ignition interlock device, operating without an ignition interlock device, driving to endanger, driving with an open container of alcohol, leaving the scene after causing property damage, failure to use care when stopping, possession class B substance – subsequent offense, possession class C substance – subsequent offense, and four counts of possession class E substance.

The two previous OUI charges are from Quincy in 1990 and Marblehead in 2004.

Sullivan was held overnight at the Hingham Police Station on $1,000 cash bail. He was arraigned Friday at Hingham District Court where he was ordered held without bail until a dangerousness hearing on June 5 at 9 a.m.

A Wellesley High School student hugs a friend as she walks across the stage to receive her diploma.

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

Hundreds of Wellesley residents gathered at Hunnewell Field during Friday's sunny weather to cheer on the first Wellesley High School class to graduate from the new $115 million school building that opened in February – under budget and ahead of schedule.

“You led our school with distinction and grace, and made a lasting impression on each and every one of us,” Wellesley High School Principal Andrew Keough told the graduating seniors.

For the class of 2012, the past seven years has been fraught with construction – both with the renovation of their middle school as they started in sixth grade, and then the building of a new high school.

And, as many students and school officials pointed out, the constant construction defined the class as a whole.

“We would like to thank those of you who allowed us to experience a peaceful last few months of high school,” joked class president Christopher McKenna.

The class of 2012 expressed their thanks by donating outdoor seating and tables to the courtyard beside the new school’s cafeteria, where class vice president Reid Williamson said many students relaxed with their friends and ate lunch on sunny days.

The outdoor area will be dubbed the 2012 Pavilion, Williamson said, as the bleachers holding parents and family erupted into applause.

“Our time here is especially meaningful because of our place as the first graduating class from this building,” Williamson said. “And as such, it is important that we are remembered for unique and diverse talents this class has brought to the Wellesley community.”

As the graduating seniors sat patiently on the field, clad in bright red caps and gowns, both students and school officials alike lectured the students on living a morally positive life and the importance of pursuing their dreams.

Wellesley High School English teacher and faculty speaker David McCullough – made somewhat famous in 2006 when he told then-graduating Wellesley students to “carpe the heck out of every diem” – stressed the fact that everyone is individually remarkable in their own way.

“As you commence and scatter to the winds, do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance,” McCullough said.

He also added that the students should live genuinely as they embark upon living on their own, telling them over and over again that no one is special.

“Selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself,” McCullough said. “The recognition is that you’re not special, because everyone is.”

Callen Raveret, the senior class speaker, told a touching anecdote about how a former fourth grade teacher once knocked out his dream of becoming an NBA superstar, and how it forced Raveret to reevaluate and tweak his ambitions as he grew older – including recovering from college rejection letters.

“I received five rejections in March, and then Duke lost to the Mountain Hawks, so it was a rough month,” Raveret joked before delivering his serious message. “But the most difficult part of process was adjusting my dreams. Every college we apply to, we picture ourselves at… but when the colleges reject those dreams, what should our dreams be? Anything.”

Wellesley Superintendent Bella Wong also gave her last farewell to the graduating class – not only because the 300 or so seniors would be leaving Wellesley, but also because Wong announced she would be resigning earlier amid a school budget uproar.

However, Wong steered clear of any controversial rhetoric, as the former biology teacher urged students to preserve the rain forests.

“One of the most basic commitments you can make to the global community in the 21st century is to safeguard the natural world for your children and generations to follow,” Wong said. “I hope you choose to do this and to be a model for others who will follow you.”

Valedictorian Daniel Miron, who will attend Columbia University in the fall, reminded his peers that they are responsible for their own moral actions, and urged them to forge new friendships and go exploring.

“There’s no excuse to ever be bored, and there’s no excuse to not take advantage of all world has to offer, and give it back something greater,” Miron said.

Loud applause erupted in the bleachers later in the evening as Jeffrey Miron and his family cheered for the valedictorian as he walked across the flower-dotted stage to receive his diploma.

“I’m so happy and proud,” the older Miron said of his son. “It’s good to see him have such a good time. I’m very happy, but a little bit sad because this means that he’s going away.”

--jaclyn.reiss@globe.com

(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com)

The 2012 graduating class of the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School posed for an informal group portrait outside Faneuil Hall before their commencement ceremony.

By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent

On Friday, seniors from the Academy of the Pacific Rim became the Hyde Park-based charter school’s 10th graduating class and prepared to move on — every single one of them — to college in the fall.

The 38 students, who make up the largest graduating class so far for the 15-year-old school, will go to colleges and universities as close as Chestnut Hill and as far away as Los Angeles. Collectively they have been awarded $3.5 million in financial assistance.

In addressing the students during the commencement ceremony in Faneuil Hall’s second-floor Great Hall, Principal Jenne C. Grant encouraged them to take their passions, ideals and their acceptance of the differences of others with them as they move into the next phase of their lives. Grant quoted Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous exhortation to simply be oneself.

“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one,” she said.

Speaking before the ceremony, students expressed excitement and a touch of nerves as they prepared to say goodbye to classmates from the small, tight-knit school.

“It’s like a family, basically,” said 17-year-old Meagan Badohu, a Roslindale resident who will be attending Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill in the fall. Badohu said she selected the small women’s college in part because it reminded her of the academy.

“I’m going to be crying,” Badohu said, and when she took her seat inside the Great Hall half an hour later, she was indeed wiping away tears.

Valerie Hartnett is planning to attend Hunter College in New York City to pursue two very different passions — theater and physics. She’s looking forward to a bigger city where she’ll have more opportunities to explore her admittedly esoteric interests.

“I’m a little tired of Boston, just because I’ve lived here my whole life,” said the 18-year-old Roslindale resident. She’s also looking forward to the challenge of being on her own so far away from her family.

“It’s time to spread my wings,” she said.

One of those traveling the farthest for college is Dalin Celamy, who will attend Occidental College in Los Angeles. Celamy, 18, said he’d first become interested in the liberal arts school when representatives from the college visited the academy when he was in 10th grade.

He said his counselor had advised that students should have an “aha!” feeling about the college they selected, and that’s how he felt about Occidental. Still, he confessed to a little trepidation about moving 3,000 miles from home.

“I am a bit nervous, even though I’ve been thinking about it ever since sophomore year,” the Randolph resident said. “[But] I’m ready to take in the new people and the new environment.”

Email Jeremy C. Fox at jeremycfox@gmail.com.
Follow Jeremy C. Fox on Twitter: @jeremycfox.
Follow Hyde Park on Twitter: @YourHydePark.

By Scott Van Voorhis, Globe Correspondent

At least half a dozen potential Atrium Mall buyers have approached Newton officials over the past few months to discuss potential uses for the struggling retail complex on Route 9, city officials said Friday.

The interest comes as the boutique shopping center in Chestnut Hill continues to shed tenants.

Bertucci’s is the latest to close shop at the Atrium, a spokeswoman for Simon Property Group confirmed Friday.

The suitors have sought general information about what kinds of commercial uses are allowed at the Atrium, noted Candace Havens, the city’s planning director, in an interview Friday.

Mayor Setti Warren said the inquiries, combined with other major retail developments nearby on Route 9, have made him optimistic about the Atrium’s future.

“It is always a positive sign when you get these inquiries about what the possibilities are,” he said.

So far, Simon, which put the mall up for sale early in the year, has shown no inclination that it plans to redevelop the property on its own, Havens said.

Simon has not filed any development plans with the city, said Havens, who said she had reached out to the national mall owner and developer more than once.

“Simon Property Group does not comment on the sales, acquisitions or dispositions of its properties,” Les Morris, the public relations manager for Simon Property Group, said in an e-mail to the Globe.

Havens said the questions from potential buyers were fairly standard and have focused on what can and can’t be done with the property under Newton zoning rules.

Between six and 10 potential buyers and/or their representatives have either met with city officials or had discussions with them, Havens estimated. Without any major zoning changes, a new owner could add small restaurants, a bank, and offices, including medical office space, she indicated.

A new owner could also add housing, lab space or a hotel, among other uses, but would need to first get a special permit from the city, Havens noted in an email.

She said she is not worried about the mall’s viability, pointing to major revamps of other nearby Route 9 shopping centers.

The Chestnut Hill Shopping Center is being renovated by WS Development, with plans for an upscale movie theater in the old Macy’s store. And Wegmans will be moving into the Chestnut Hill Square shopping center taking shape where the old Omni Foods once stood.

“The city feels optimistic about the developments that are occurring now in that corridor,” Warren said.

Still, Atrium is fast becoming a ghost town, with Borders Books & Music and several other long-time tenants having jumped ship over the past few months. The list of stores that have pulled includes Tiffany & Co. Williams-Sonoma, Abercrombie & Fitch, as well as the Gap and GapKids.

It is a situation that Warren said city officials are monitoring and a far cry from when the Atrium first opened in 1989, when it stood a cut above more traditional malls with boutique shops and a deluxe feel that catered to high-end shoppers.

“We will continue to monitor the progress in the coming weeks and months,” Warren said.

Scott B. Van Voorhis can be reached at sbvanvoorhis@hotmail.com.

(Patrick D. Rosso/Boston.com/2012)

In Video: Students, families, and faculty talk about the future at the UMass Boston commencement Friday.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, the former president of the UN Security Council, encouraged UMasss Boston graduates Friday to embrace the differences that surround them and use that diversity and understanding to their advantage.

“You should be proud that your alma mater values and provides a learning environment that not just respects differences but excites curiosity and embodies civility,” Chowdhury told the nearly 4,000 graduates under sunny skies on the university's waterfront campus.

“You have been particularly privileged as your learning has prepared you to be independent, creative, and compassionate citizens and leaders who will shape the quality of the individual and social life with the global perspective of today’s interdependent world," said Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi diplomat renowned for his work on behalf of women’s rights and advocacy for the poor worldwide.

Chowdhury also urged students to look into themselves, in a world where material possessions are too often the be-all and end-all, and find a space for spirituality.

“I’m confident you will make every effort to rid yourselves and your fellow men and women of the evils of intolerance and prejudice, ignorance and selfishness that compel us to repeat the cycle of violence," he said. "Your positive goals should not be achieved at the cost of others. Recognize the positive in others and value others.”

FULL ENTRY

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

With less than three weeks before the academic year ends, two Jamaica Plain schools have yet to determine when they will make up 12 hours of learning time that has been owed since the schools’ openings were delayed last September.

Leaders of the Boston Teachers Union blame the Boston Public School Department for not having scheduled the make-up time – amounting to two school days – sooner. School department officials say the union’s request for additional compensation for staff has slowed an announcement.

The James W. Hennigan Elementary School and the West Zone Early Learning Center, which enroll more than 650 K-5 students combined in the same Jamaica Plain facility, started their academic years on Sept. 12., two school days after other Boston students began classes.

The schools’ openings were delayed in order to complete work to remove trace amounts of a toxin in the building’s old, flaking paint.

“This isn’t really a normal situation,” city school department spokesman Matthew Wilder said. “We recognize the end of the school year is fast approaching.”

“We have an obligation to make sure students get 180 days and get these hours in. A decision will be made as soon as possible,” he said.

Wilder said the school department e-mailed the teachers union on Sept. 2 – one day after the two schools learned they would be opening late.

In a copy of that brief e-mail from Brendan M. Green, a labor counsel for the city school department, to the union’s vice president, Patrick Connolly, Green says: “The thinking here is still that we would tack on the additional days at the end of the school year. That option is obviously fraught with downside and we would certainly be open to talking about other options.”

Wilder said that e-mail was the beginning of talks between the school department and the union.

But Richard Stutman, the union’s president, said the school department never followed up from that e-mail on the issue of scheduling make-up time until late April, when West Zone Early Learning Center principal Kathleen Sullivan sent an e-mail that included a list of recommended make-up dates.

The school department spokesman said he cannot say with certainty when between September and April the school department and union spoke about scheduling make-up dates, but he said the talks have been ongoing since September.

“We communicate very often with the Boston Teachers Union on a variety of things,” he said. “We were attempting to negotiate with the teachers union. It’s certainly not something that came at the last minute for us.”

But the union president asserts that “there was no conversation in between.”

“They’ve been seriously asleep on this,” Stutman said. And, if school department officials say otherwise, he said they are being “totally disingenuous. They’re flat-out lying and should be ashamed.”

He said initiating the rescheduling process was solely the school department’s responsibility.

“It’s their school; it’s their schedule,” Stutman said. “It really is irresponsible. And this is typical of how they do business.”

The school department spokesman said the scheduling delay is being caused by the union’s request for additional compensation for when staff worked to ready the schools before they opened. But, Wilder said that “teachers always volunteer before schools open … across the district across the state,” to prepare their classrooms.

“It seems all the union is interested in taking about is the money,” Wilder said. “I think this is a typical strategy by the union.”

The union president acknowledged that the union is trying to get compensation for some of the time teachers put in voluntarily before the school’s opening to help clean and ready the building.

But, Stutman said, those negotiations just began this week and that the delay in scheduling make-up time “isn’t an issue about pay or compensation. It’s an issue about lackadaisical-ness [by the school department] and a lack of attention to details.”

Stutman said that the make-up date proposal sent by the school principal in late April was informal, and that the union “didn’t hear from [the school department] officially until [Tues. May 29]. They notified us with a verbal proposal.”

The following day the school department sent a written proposal.

In a copy of that letter to the union, the school department says it will pay staff for the hours they worked voluntarily on the two days before the school opened.

The union responded in a letter Thursday demanding the school department talk further with the union about making sure staff will be properly compensated, if they have not been already, for time worked prior to the school’s opening dating back to Aug. 15.

The letter proposes that the union and the school department meet on either June 4 or June 7 to discuss the matter further.

With no snow days or other cancellations this academic year, Boston schools are scheduled to hold the final day of classes on June 21.

Stutman called scheduling days this late in the academic year “foolish and counterproductive.”

“These hours meant something months ago,” he said. “In late June, kids have other things on their minds,” like playing outdoors and the looming summer recess.

The school department said the district's academic calendar "doesn't have a lot of flexibility in it during the school year," and that "the only real solution" was to make-up the learning time near the end of the school year.

"Ideally, we would have liked to announce it already," Wilder said.

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com)

Are all these people unhappy? Maybe.

By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent

The MBTA - not much to tweet home about

Storified by Jeremy C. Fox · Fri, Jun 01 2012 15:47:06

Email Jeremy C. Fox at jeremycfox@gmail.com.
Follow Jeremy C. Fox on Twitter: @jeremycfox.
Follow Downtown on Twitter: @YTDowntown.

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

The following is based on a prepared statement sent by the Middlesex DA's office:

The Middlesex District Attorney’s office is launching a three-prong summer safety awareness campaign aimed to educate parents, caretakers, and their children on how to be safe during the summer season, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone announced.

Last week, Leone’s office launched a “Splash into a Safe Swim Season” public awareness campaign focused on water safety. These efforts have been expanded to include window fall prevention and car safety, two additional areas of child deaths and near fatalities that occur often this time of year.

“With the onset of warm weather and the desire to be outside, come seasonal dangers we’d like parents to be aware of in and around water, cars and windows," Leone said. “All too often, we see the tragic results of accidental drownings, window falls, and overheating from being left in a car... the bottom line is that these child deaths and near fatalities are all completely preventable.”

The DA's office will distribute a safety brochure this summer, which features key prevention and safety tips around water safety, window safety and car safety.

The brochure will be distributed by Middlesex YMCAs, hospitals, and schools, as well as the Middlesex Children's Advocacy Center's multidisciplinary team, which includes members of the DA's Child Abuse Unit, law enforcement, and the Department of Children and Families.

Leone's office will also promote the information on its website, providing the information in a format easily accessible to parents and caretakers.

Every year, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, local Child Fatality Review Teams, the Office of the Child Advocate, and DCF review numerous accidental child deaths and near fatalities caused by water drownings, falls from windows and overheating after being left in a motor vehicle.

An estimated 5,000 children are hospitalized each year due to unintentional drowning related incidents, with 15 percent dying and 20 percent left with permanent brain damage.

The following are tips for parents and caretakers to ensure water safety:

• Actively supervise children at all times
• Never leave a child alone near a pool or other body of water
• Teach children to swim
• Stay within arms reach of preschool-age children
• Provide locked safety barriers for swimming area when not in use
• Keep climbable objects away from pool barrier
• Teach children about water safety
• Learn CPR – use infant CPR until age one, then child CPR until age eight
• Be alert when visiting homes with a pool
• Remove toys from pool after use
• Do not rely on air-filled or foam toys - they are not designed for safety
• Older children are most vulnerable in bodies of fresh water
• Always use US Coast Guard-approved life jackets when boating

In addition, Massachusetts requires that residential swimming pools have:

• A four-foot-high barrier, not including a house, enclosing the swimming area, even if you don't have children
• Access gates that self-close, lock, and open outward from the swimming area
• Opening/locking mechanism that must be located 54 inches high or on the pool side of the gate
• Access ladders or steps that should be removed, locked, or secured to prevent usage by children

Contact your city or town hall for additional requirements.

Landscaped water features and koi ponds are also safety hazards for children, Leone's office said.

The DA's office also seeks to warn caretakers about window falls, which are the leading cause of injury to children. On average, 14 children a day are injured in window falls, Leone's office said.

The most common injuries are head and brain trauma, as well as extremity fractures.

To prevent window falls, parents and caregivers should:

• Be sure children are always supervised
• Lock all unopened doors and windows
• Keep beds, furniture, and anything a child can climb on away from windows
• Open windows from the top, not from the bottom
• Install quick release window guards - screens do not protect children from falling out of windows

Cars can also be unsafe for kids in summertime, and not just from car crashes. Children left in a hot car can die from overheating, the DA's office said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates a closed car sitting in the summer sun quickly turns into an oven, with temperatures rising from 78 degrees to 100 degrees in just three minutes, and to 125 degrees in six to eight minutes.

In addition, children can be injured while getting out of moving cars, or can be run or backed over by motor vehicles.

To keep young children safe in and around cars:

• Never leave children alone in a parked vehicle, even when they are asleep or restrained or if the windows are open
• Always lock your car and keep the keys out of children's reach
• Make a habit of looking in the vehicle - front and back - before locking the door and walking away
• Ensure adequate supervision when children are playing in areas near parked motor vehicles
• If a child is missing, check the vehicle first, including the trunk
• Ask your childcare provider to call you if your child does not show up for childcare
• Do things to remind yourself that a child is in the vehicle such as placing your purse, briefcase or something else you need in the back seat so that you will have to check the back seat when you leave the vehicle

If you see a child alone in a hot vehicle, call the police. If they are in distress due to heat, get them out as quickly as possible and cool the child rapidly. For more information and summer safety tips visit www.middlesexda.com or the Middlesex Children’s Advocacy Center.

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Follow us on Twitter: @yourframingham, @jaclynreiss

Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com

By Johanna Kaiser, Town Correspondent

The South End’s life sciences district is the latest LifeTech Boston initiative to be highlighted by the city.

The area near the Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate 93 is known as the Crosstown Cluster and was featured in a video highlighting the area ahead of this month’s BIO International Convention.

The cluster, one of five in the city, is home to Bio Square research park, a 14 acre campus with 700,000 square feet of lab and office space.

That space is home to Matrivax, a vaccine manufacturer whose vice president of research and business development Kevin Killeen talked about the benefits of working in an area shared by other life science companies and institutions, including Boston Medical Center.

The park is also near Boston University’s BioScience Academy, which provides life science workforce training, making it easier for Matrivax to find qualified employees, Killeen said.

The cluster is part of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s LifeTech Boston, an initiative started in 2004 to foster the growth of life sciences in the city.

The program, administered by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, aims to attract local, national, and international companies by offering assistance with site selection, financing, workforce development, and permitting.

A new district will be featured weekly leading up to the convention in South Boston's Innovation District starting June 18.

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Twitter: @Your_SouthEnd
E-mail: johanna.yourtown@gmail.com

(Patrick D. Rosso/Boston.com/2012)

In Video: Jenu Berry, a junior at Madison Park also found his voice with his project “Smoking Affects Everyone” and is one of the four students who were chosen to represent BPS in the international Adobe Aspire Awards Competition.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

More than 100 multi-media projects were on display Friday at the Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Dorchester as local students celebrated the projects they made for the Adobe Youth Voices program.

The program, sponsored by Adobe, works to cultivate the students' voices and gives them the tools needed to push a message in a 21st century setting.

This year, more than 900 Boston Public School students from 15 schools took part in the program that encouraged students to, using Adobe products, tackle issues important to them, such as “coming out,” quitting smoking, and healthy eating.

FULL ENTRY

(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com)

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Pride Flag flew alongside the American Flag, the POW-MIA Flag, and the Massachusetts State Flag after its annual raising on Boston’s City Hall Plaza.

By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent

Around 200 people gathered on City Hall Plaza on Friday for the raising of the Pride Flag, kicking off Boston’s 42nd annual LGBT Pride celebration.

“It’s particularly appropriate that we gather here today, one day after our hard-fought victory to finally declare DOMA unconstitutional,” said Justin Holmes, director of constituent engagement for Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

Holmes, who said he was proud to be part of the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, was referring to a landmark ruling Thursday by a federal appeals court in Boston that the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act deprives same-sex couples the rights and privileges given to heterosexual couples.

Holmes presented the volunteer organizers of the Pride celebration with a proclamation from Menino officially declaring June 1 – 10 as Pride Week in Boston. He also presented certificates of recognition for the Pride Parade’s marshals: the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, radio personality “Fast Freddy” Murphy, and the late Brendan Burke.

Boston’s leadership in LGBT acceptance and civil rights were the theme of the day. Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, touted the state transgender rights bill passed last November but noted that the Boston City Council had passed a similar law a decade earlier. But he said the struggle was not over.

“We still have a lot of work to do to bring transgender people up to the same places as everybody else,” Scott said.

Anna Dubrowski, co-chair of Interpride2012, said the worldwide Pride movement had begun in Boston with the first conference of the International Association of Pride Organizers 30 years ago and would pay tribute to those beginnings when the conference returns to Boston in October.

Murphy, who currently broadcasts at Mix 104.1 but has worked at a handful of local stations in his 20-year career, said he had long ago made a conscious decision never to pretend not to be a gay man.

“Whether it is the Top of the Hub or the bottom of the barrel, I always present myself as I am,” he said.

Elected officials in attendance included Boston City Councilors Felix G. Arroyo, Frank Baker, John R. Connolly, Robert Consalvo, Salvatore LaMattina, Bill Linehan, Matt O’Malley, Stephen J. Murphy, and Michael P. Ross; State Representative Elizabeth A. Malia; State Senators Sonia Chang-Diaz and Sal DiDomenico.

Email Jeremy C. Fox at jeremycfox@gmail.com.
Follow Jeremy C. Fox on Twitter: @jeremycfox.
Follow Downtown on Twitter: @YTDowntown.

(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com)

Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, spoke at the flag-raising.

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

Hovey Players of Waltham, the city's community theater, will bring back “Hovey Summer Shorts” opening Friday, July 13.

Hovey began this festival 16 years ago when it featured 10-minute "shorts." Through the years, the festival evolved, incorporating short musicals, musical acts, short films, full one-act plays, and displayed works by local artists.

This year’s festival features the "shorts" format, featuring 10 different 10-minute plays by local playwrights.

The festival is produced by Michael Haddad, a Hovey Board Member and Trustee.

The plays to be performed include:

• “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friends” by Kate Tustin, directed by Kristine Mackin
• “It Doesn’t” by George Smart, directed by Kaitlyn MacPherson
• “Rosie the Teddy Bear” by Steven Bergman, directed by Liz Fenstermaker
• “The Change” by Peter Floyd, directed by Ronni Marshak
• “Dan in the Lion’s Den” by Mary Freed, directed by Kate Tustin
• “Fork in the Road” by Eoin Carney, directed by Mike Haddad
• “Not Funny” by Chris Lockheardt, directed by Mike Haddad
• “Third Time’s a Charm” by John Greiner-Ferris, directed by Jess Viator
• “Ronnie’s Charger” by Lawrence Kessenich, directed by Jess Viator
• “Life Choice” by Andrea Clardy, directed by Jesse Strachman

Tickets are $15 for general admission. Call 781-893-9171 or email Reservations@hoveyplayers.com.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays, taking place on July 13, 14, 20, and 21 at 8 p.m. at the Abbott Memorial Theater, Joel's Way, 9 Spring Street in Waltham, next to the Waltham Public Library.

Hovey Players has been Waltham’s community theater since 1936, featuring regional talent both onstage and behind the scenes. An inexpensive alternative to theatre hosted in Boston with five full productions each year, Hovey Player’s 2012-2013 season opens in September with The Porch by Jack Neary.

For more information visit www.hoveyplayers.com.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Seniors in Dorchester and Mattapan will be dancing the night away Friday night at the Annual Senior Ball.

From 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., June 1, seniors will enjoy free dinner and dancing provided by the Boston Police Department’s District B-3 Office.

The event will be held at the Unity Sports Club at 10 Dunbar Ave.

FULL ENTRY