Births per 1,000 residents in 2010

By Matt Carroll, Boston Globe | May 2, 2013

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Additional town-by-town snapshots.

Photo courtesy of Atlantic Symphony Orchestra

Conductor Jin Kim shakes the hand of Ethan Wood, concertmaster.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

With nearly 400 seats already sold, the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra is preparing to wrap up a successful season with a finale concert on Saturday.

“It’s been probably one of the better seasons we’ve had,” said Nina Wellford, acting executive director for the orchestra. “… The overall program was a great mix of favorite classical music but [there were] some stimulating and challenging new pieces. The programming was great, we had outstanding soloists, attendance was up - for many reasons, it was a very successful year.”

Members of the regional orchestra started their season in August in Hingham with a smaller show, moving into their full season in October, with performances at Thayer Academy.

Though the orchestra typically splits its concert performances between the 500-seat Thayer and the 1,100-seat Duxbury Performing Arts Center, Thayer became the home base this season while the Duxbury site was under construction.

“People knew where to find us and it was in the middle of the North/South Shore. And it’s a great place to play. You can have receptions and preconcert parties, which you can’t do easily at Duxbury,” Wellford said.

Yet the venue hasn’t been the prime reason for the orchestra’s most recent successes. According to Wellford, the reputation of the orchestra has steadily grown, making the concerts a destination.

“I think each year, more and more people hear about us and make us part of their plans,” Wellford said. “At a certain point you reach a tipping point. Enough people know about us and know it will be a good night out. At this point, attendance is much more steadily up.”

Previous seasons ended with a pops concert, but this season, that was moved to the winter.

“Everyone could use a party in the middle of the year, and this way we could end the season with a similar feel to opening night,” Wellford said. “It’s a festival classical music night rather than a pops, and represents who we are as an orchestra.”

This weekend's program will exemplify Music Director Jin Kim's combination of familiar classics -- "Appalachian Spring" by Aaron Copland and Brahms's Symphony No. 1 -- with a lesser-known work, John Knowles Paine's Overture to Shakespeare’s "As You Like It."

Though the final piece may seem out of place, the composer was an American, like Copland, with German training, like Brahms.

According to program notes, Paine was the first professor of music at Harvard, and composed this piece in 1876, the same year that Brahms finished his first symphony.

“It’s a nice example of [Kim’s] programming,” Wellford said.

For more information on the pieces, visit the Atlantic Symphony’s website.

For tickets or concert information, click here, or call 781-331-3600.

Weymouth man charged in car break-in

A Weymouth man was arrested early Thursday after allegedly breaking into a car on Walnut Avenue.

Two cars had been broken into on Pilgrim Road and Sun Valley Drive the night before, and officers set up a heavy presence in the area on Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

At 1:40 a.m., a Stonewood Lane homeowner called police to report that someone was attempting to break into his and a neighbor’s vehicle. Police arrived shortly and began tracking the suspect with a police dog.

According to police, the dog followed the suspect across Elliot Street and into a backyard. The Weymouth Police Department also sent their police dog to help track the suspect.

The suspect was ultimately discovered hiding under an SUV parked behind a Sterling Street Home. Though he initially resisted arrest, officers took him into custody.

Police said they found various items in the suspect’s pockets, including at least one item stolen from one of the vehicles. The suspect also had a knife and pepper spray on him.

Austin M. Keaney, 18, of Weymouth was arrested and charged with breaking and entering, receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, attempting to commit a crime, possession of pepper spray without an FID card, and possession of a dangerous weapon.

Though the break happened in the same area as the earlier breaks, Keaney has not been linked to any earlier robberies, police said.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

With 10 years of offering small community grants to organizations throughout the South Shore, the Blue Hills Community Health Alliance will start a new initiative this year, offering up to two larger grants to worthy organizations.

Geared towards groups in Braintree, Quincy, Hingham, Scituate, Canton, Cohasset, Hull, Milton, Norwell, Norwood, Randolph, Sharon, and Weymouth, the goal of the grants is to improve local health.

As has occurred in the past, several grants, typically 10-20, ranging from $500-$3,500 each, will be handed out for smaller initiatives. Yet for the first time this year, one or two “Impact Grants” will be given out ranging from $3,600-$10,000.

“We did fund many wonderful grants last year,” said Stephanie Nitka, Blue Hills Community Health Network Area Coordinator. “It’s exciting to see what each group does with a small amount of money, and it will be exciting to see what happens with these Impact Grants.”

Last year, grants were given to a variety of organizations after an extensive vetting process, with Quincy’s Germantown Neighborhood Center, Point Webster Middle School, Quincy Asian Resources, and Manet Community Health Center all receiving funding.

Over $39,000 in funding was doled out in total to 13 organizations.

This year, along with the opportunity to win larger grants, the organization has also received more money, preparing to hand out $55,000 in funding to a variety of organizations.

According to Nitka, the funding comes from a Determination of Need funding from hospitals – money that is taken from hospital renovations and given to the Department of Public Health to be dolled out to community organizations.

On the Health Alliance website, funders included the South Shore Hospital, Norwood Hospital, Harvard Vanguard, and Weymouth MRI.

With more money this year, the process will be no less intensive. Those looking to apply will have to attend a mandatory information session on either April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. or on April 25 from 5 to 7 p.m.

From there, organizations will fill out an application. Projects must either improve access to care, prevent or manage chronic disease, improve mental health in the community, or address substance abuse.

A judging panel made up of reviewers from the community judge the applications on how they fit the criteria and will decide who receives funding.

According to Nitka, applications are due by May 16 and winners will be announced by June 30. Awarded programs will start July 1.

For more information and to register for an information session, visit here.

Gatherers left roses and wrote notes on banners at Tuesday's vigil on Boston Common.

Photo: Christina Jedra for The Boston Globe

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

A 37-year-old Weymouth man is facing drunk driving charges after allegedly crashing his car into a utility pole outside Weymouth Landing in Braintree.

According to Braintree police, shortly before 11 p.m. on Sunday, officers arrived on the scene of a reported car accident at the landing, finding a car wedged between a light pole and a wrought iron fence.

The man, who did suffer any serious injuries, could not exit the vehicle because the doors were pinned in by the pole and the fence.

The fire department had to extract the man from the car, police said.

Officers made several observations of possible intoxication, and the man was transported to South Shore Hospital.

Police will be seeking complaints against the man, whose name has not been released, as he has not yet been charged. He will be charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, and failure to keep within marked lanes.

This time-lapse video from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation shows the stages of the construction project at the Fore River Bridge. The following is the description from the DOT's You Tube page:

"The Fore River Bridge Replacement is a signature project of the Patrick-Murray Administration's Accelerated Bridge Program. A new vertical lift bridge will carry Route 3A between Quincy and Weymouth. Construction is underway in 2013, with the design-build phases shown in this animated video with music.''

By Dave Eisenstadter, Town Correspondent

Norfolk County’s sheriff is looking for volunteers to mentor prisoners at Norfolk County House of Correction in Dedham.

Mentors are paired with inmates while they are in prison, and they continue to meet after the release from prison, according to Sheriff Michael G. Bellotti, who began the program in 2011.

“The idea is to help the inmates stay on a productive, law-abiding path after they leave our walls,” Bellotti said.

Prospective mentors are interviewed and screened by Norfolk County Sheriff’s office staff to determine how well they will fit the program, but Bellotti said people from all walks of life could make good mentors.

About 40 mentors have been paired with inmates since the program began.

Funding in 2011 came from a US Justice Department grant received by the non-profit organization Volunteers of America, which partnered with the sheriff’s office to administer the program.

Anyone interested in becoming a mentor can contact Assistant Superintendent Patty Spataro at 781-751-3416.

By Dave Eisenstadter, Town Correspondent

Norfolk County’s register of deeds will host a free informational seminar about using computers to research property records.

William P. O’Donnell will hold the seminar at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds at 649 High St. in Dedham on Thursday, May 9, at 4:30 p.m.

The seminar is intended for both real estate professionals and the general public, and will include a presentation, written handouts, and hands-on exercises.

Computer assisted land records research is currently available both at the registry and on the Internet at www.norfolkdeeds.org.

The seminar is free, but anyone planning to attend should register by contacting Alicia Gardner at 781-461-6104 or agardner@norfolkdeeds.org, and providing name, address, e-mail, and a daytime phone number.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Transit Police have arrested a man for allegedly selling prescription drugs to an undercover transit officer, officials said on Thursday.

According to a release, on March 27 at 7:30 p.m., a detective in plain clothes was at the Back Bay station because of concerns about drug dealing.

While undercover, the detective purchased Oxycodone from a man.

The man, identified as Eric Simmons, 53, of Weymouth, was arrested and taken to Transit Police headquarters for booking.

Police soon discovered that there was an active warrant out for Simmons’ arrest issued from Plymouth Superior Court for other drug charges.

Simmons had also previously been identified as allegedly leading a large-scale prescription drug ring operation in 2011.

Simmons was charged with distribution of a Class B substance, and possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute. He was to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on Thursday on the charges.