Top ten stories from Boston-area communities this week

Globe Staff

The amazing, humorous, impressive and sad -- we had it all in Boston's neighborhoods and surrounding communities over the last week or so. From our home office on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester, MA., here is our list of top ten very, very local stories of the past few days.

1. The high school graduation speech by Wellesley High teacher David McCullough Jr. earlier this month spawned national media coverage, including pieces in the Los Angeles Times and NBC. Wellesley's cable company is also sponsoring a contest asking locals to post videos on why, indeed, that ARE special. Take that!

2. At Cristo Rey Boston High School, the graduates are both special and amazing. All 52 graduates are heading to college. It's the third year in a row all of the school's graduates were accepted to college.

3. Walmart announced it was abandoning its plans to build stores in Watertown and Somerville.

4. An urban shrine meant to honor honesty was stolen in Somerville. Ironic and sad, the artist says.

5. Public art also caused a controversy in Dedham, where military veterans were so irked by the placement of a fiberglass rabbit on the town common that they refused to salute as they marched past on Flag Day. The vets say the space was meant to honor those in the armed services. And not anything else, apparently.

6. (Which reminds us of another rabbit, this one the stuffed animal rescued earlier this month after a 3 year old dropped it on the MBTA tracks.)

7. Residents in Swampscott and Marblehead are wowed by Adam Sandler and film crews who are staging Grown Ups 2 in their towns.

8. Area members of Congress are trying to head off cutbacks at Hanscom Air Force Base. We took a look at Hanscom over the years.

9. Waltham's police chief is under arrest and accused of assaulting his wife and a neighbor.

10. Brookline police checking on the well-being of a man discovered a cache of 39 firearms and lots of ammunition. He is being held.

11. (Bonus round.). Two Braintree police dogs were put down after two biting incidents.

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