AG urges people to give wisely in holiday season
By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff
Sixty-five cents of every dollar raised by a professional solicitor for charity in Massachusetts in 2007 went to the solicitor, while only 35 cents went to the charity, according to a report released today by the attorney general's office.
 Martha Coakley |
The amount of money that flowed to charities declined from the previous year, when 44 cents of every dollar raised went to charity.
Attorney General Martha Coakley urged people to give wisely as the office released its annual report on charitable fundraisers.
"Donors should do their homework before writing a check or donating online to their favorite cause, and also feel comfortable asking some basic questions about where their money is going when they are contacted by a professional solicitor," Coakley said in a statement.
The report, which looked at 621 campaigns, found that in 109 of them, or about 18 percent, the charity received less than 10 percent of the money raised.
Full entryClosure recommended for Boston charter school
By James Vaznis, Globe Staff
The state commissioner for elementary and secondary education today recommended closing Boston's Uphams Corner Charter School, saying its lack of academic progress was "deeply disappointing."
"There is little evidence that this school is on a trajectory toward academic improvement. This decision has to be about what is best for students, and I do not see enough evidence here to convince me they are being properly served at this school," Commissioner Mitchell Chester said in a prepared statement, which he released after a meeting of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.
Chester said officials had given the middle school, which currently serves about 175 students, "ample time to turn around."
Chester recommended the school's charter be revoked at the end of this school year. Should the board approve the recommendation at its meeting next month, Uphams Corner would become one of only a handful of charter schools to close since such schools first began operating in the state in 1995.
Full entryTough commute expected Wednesday morning
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
Southern New England residents should be prepared for a messy commute Wednesday after a mild storm overnight dusts the area with 1 to 4 inches of snow and, in some places, a light glaze of freezing rain, forecasters said. A larger storm looms on the horizon and could dump a significant amount of snow Friday just when holiday travel begins kicking into high gear.
Flakes are expected to begin falling tonight in some areas at about 9 p.m. Snow accumulations may hit 1 to 3 inches in Boston and 2 to 4 inches in the central and northern areas of the state that are still recovering from a major ice storm.
"It's not going to be a big hindrance to cleanup efforts, but it's certainly not going to make things easier," said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.
Full entryCarbon monoxide scare sends 6 to hospitals
(George Rizer/Globe Staff)
Boston firefighter Steve Turley assisted a mother who said her baby seemed sluggish after carbon monoxide was detected in an apartment building on Strathcona Road.
By John R. Ellement and George Rizer, Globe Staff
Three young children and three adults were hospitalized this morning with symptoms of minor carbon monoxide poisoning when the heating system malfunctioned in a large Dorchester apartment building.
Residents and EMS Deputy Superintendent Joseph O'Hare talked about the leak. (By John Ellement, Globe Staff) |
The six patients were alert but showed elevated levels of carbon monoxide, according to EMS Deputy Superintendent Joseph O'Hare. Two adults and one child were taken to Boston Medical Center; two children and one adult were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.
A partially blocked chimney caused exhaust from the heating system to backup into the building, according to Clifford Long, who has owned the building on Strathcona Road since 1996. As required by state law, each of the brick building's 14 apartments were equipped with carbon monoxide detectors, which alerted residents of the danger.
"It gave us the early warning," Long said.
Full entryNo snow and no ice, but a day off for some Chelsea workers
By Globe Staff
Some Chelsea city workers took the day off Friday and Monday because of a provision in their union contract that says they don’t have to work when the governor declares a state of emergency, City Manager Jay Ash said today.
Governor Deval Patrick made his declaration Friday because of a major ice storm in central, western, and northern Massachusetts that left thousands of people without power. Outages persist in those areas even today.
Chelsea and other communities in the eastern part of the state saw heavy rain. But no snow and no ice.
“I’m disappointed. I don’t think this stands a test of reasonableness,” said Ash, who said the language was in the contract for a 46-member bargaining unit that represents administrative and clerical workers in the town hall and police and fire departments, as well as building inspectors.
SEIU Local 888 President Susana Segat didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
Full entryBoston man sentenced to life in cabdriver's slaying
By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff
A 22-year-old Boston man has been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the August 2005 death of a minister-in-training who was fatally stabbed in his taxi during a holdup.
 Heureur Previlon |
Cleveland Martin killed Heureur Previlon, 31, on Aug. 25, 2005. Martin was convicted after about one full day of deliberations by a Suffolk County jury, the Suffolk district attorney's office said in a statement.
Jashawn Robinson, 24, who was also charged in the case, will face a separate trial on Jan. 26.
“Heureur Previlon was a truly innocent victim, a man with only kindness in his heart, who paid the ultimate price for trusting the wrong men,” said District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. “His case touched the hearts of police and prosecutors alike. We are very pleased with the verdict and we hope it brings some comfort to the family Mr. Previlon left behind.”
Prosecutors said that Previlon picked up the two young men at Cleveland Circle in Brighton about 1 a.m. and began driving them to the Fidelis Way housing development.
But along the way, as the cab neared St. Elizabeth Medical Center, the men tried to rob Previlon, and Martin plunged a kitchen knife into his side, prosecutors said. Previlon's body was found early that morning in the hospital parking lot.
Full entryMurray foresees aid cuts for cities and towns
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray said this afternoon that local aid could be cut in the next few weeks as part of the plan to close a deeper budget problem than initially forecasted.
 Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray |
State forecasters said yesterday that tax revenues could plunge by up to $750 million beyond the $1.4 billion budget gap that the state addressed in October.
“No final decisions have been made, but clearly, if you have to cut another $750 million, you have to look at everything,” Murray told reporters at a State House news conference. He said the administration would try to preserve the funding -- which cities and towns use to pay for everything from teachers to trash collection -- but following a round of budget cuts just two months ago, “there’s not a lot of other places to go.”
Patrick is expected to develop a new plan to balance the budget as soon as next month, when the Legislature returns from a holiday break, the Globe reported this morning.
Full entryPennies from Eastie: Protester pays toll in change
(Video by David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)
By Globe Staff
Anti-toll activist Michael Kelleher delivered 350 messages today to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, paying the $3.50 charge at Sumner Tunnel penny by penny.
 (David L. Ryan/Globe Staff) |
The goal of the penny protest is to convince the Turnpike Authority not to implement a proposed hike that would double tolls to $7 at the tunnels beneath Boston Harbor. The gambit drew honks as a toll collector graciously tallied the pennies, delaying traffic as Kelleher urged him to be cautious as he counted.
"I want to make sure you are right," said Kelleher, who paid the full $3.50 fare despite his East Boston resident discount that lowers his toll to 40 cents. "I don't want to short change the state."
Full entryPower trickles back, but 230,000 remain without electricity
(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)
Terry Lane untangled downed power lines today on New Westminster Road in Hubbardston.
By David Abel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
Electricity is trickling back to homes and business today as work crews restored service to more than 87,000 utility customers in the last 24 hours in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. However more than 230,000 remain without power five days after a massive winter storm encased much of New England in an inch of ice.
In Massachusetts 77,000 remain without electricity, with the highest concentration of outages in Worcester County, where 35,893 lacked power as 1 p.m., down from 100,000 shortly after the storm, according to National Grid. Statewide outages peaked at 326,000 on Friday and affected nearly 1 million homes and businesses across New England.
"We still have a lot of debris removal to do to get everyone's lights on," said Peter Judge, spokesman Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. "There are a lot of things to evaluate. We’re not even halfway through this.”
Full entryPolice come up empty-handed in raid of murder suspect's home
By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff
Boston Police forced their way into the Dorchester apartment of a 41-year-old murder suspect today, but he was gone -- and investigators are now seeking the public's help in finding him.
 Daniel Yakovleff |
Steven Odegard is facing a murder charge in the Jan. 17 stabbing death of 20-year-old Daniel Yakovleff. Prosecutors say Yakovleff was found dead with multiple and severe stab wounds in Odegard's bed in the apartment Odegard occupied at the time on Tuttle Street in Dorchester.
"The tragedy of Daniel's death was felt throughout the community and it is vitally important that the person responsible be held accountable," Police Commissioner Edward Davis said in a statement.
Suffolk County prosecutors led a grand jury investigation for 11 months that included testimony from 16 separate witnesses.
Full entryWilliams College president to head Northwestern
By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff
Williams College president Morton O. Schapiro announced today that he will become president of Northwestern University next September.
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Williams, an elite liberal arts college in Williamstown, is wrapping up a fund-raising campaign that generated more than $400 million.
Northwestern’s board of trustees approved Schapiro's selection Saturday.
Schapiro, 55, is a specialist in higher education finance and affordability, and was an economics professor and assistant provost at Williams from 1980-1991. Before becoming president, he was dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California, where he previously had been professor and chair of the economics department.
During Schapiro's presidency, which began in 2000, Williams has reduced its average class size, completed several major building projects, and sharply expanded financial aid, including eliminating student loans from financial aid packages.
For students qualifying for financial aid, the median cost of attending Williams has decreased by more than a third during his tenure, the university said.
"By any measure, Williams is better positioned today because of initiatives he has expertly led," Greg Avis, chairman of the executive committee of the Williams' trustees wrote in an accompanying letter.
Teddy's Take: Rest for the weary
(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)
Jim Esselstyn, 72, took a break yesterday from cleaning downed trees from his property in Harvard, a town hit particularly hard by last week's ice storm.
Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.
Bello's Morning Blotter
Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:
Breaking Now:
Gritting teeth, residents await restored power
N.H. jury considers Addison's sentence
Buzz
A slow struggle out of darkness
Governor's transportation chief resigns amid turmoil
Lawyer wants Connolly's conviction voided
In survey, Caritas hospitals gave illegal answer
Gritting teeth, residents await restored power
(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)
Jim Esselstyn, 72, cleared debris from his yard in Harvard.
By David Abel, Globe Staff
Four days after one of the region's most punishing ice storms in memory ended, hundreds of thousands of increasingly anxious New Englanders remained without electricity yesterday.
And power companies in some areas urged those whose electricity had not yet been restored to brace for a long haul, with some outages expected to last through the week. In Massachusetts, about 77,000 homes and businesses remained in the dark this morning, down from the peak last week of 326,000.
As residents began to survey the damage, more than 900 utility crews; hundreds of National Guard soldiers; and numerous local police, firefighters, and other officials in the state waded through a vast path of destruction yesterday. They struggled to right downed utility poles and snapped power lines, clear severed tree limbs from closed roads, and provide shelter and food to the needy - a task officials compared to coping with the aftermath of a major hurricane.
Governor Deval Patrick toured the damage yesterday in Holden and Gardner, conferring with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as the governors of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. President Bush issued an emergency declaration in Maine, joining New Hampshire and nine Massachusetts counties, and directed FEMA to provide relief assistance.
"It's just a mess," Patrick said about parts of Holden during a news conference. "There are trees down, wires down. I saw telephone and electric poles that were just snapped in half, some of them just hanging by what's left of the wire. Most of the debris has now been cleared . . . . The issue now is getting it removed and chipped, and there is some concern now about getting that done before the weather gets bad."
As residents grew increasingly frustrated, he defended the state's response.
Full entryState transportation secretary resigns
By Frank Phillips and Noah Bierman, Globe Staff
Governor Deval Patrick’s top transportation advisor submitted his resignation today, adding more uncertainty to the administration’s increasingly high-profile effort to repair the state’s crumbling road and public transit system.
Bernard Cohen, the state transportation secretary, insisted in an interview with the Globe that he was not being pushed out, despite his diminishing clout and discussions in government and transportation circles that Patrick and his inner circle had grown disenchanted with Cohen’s political and communication skills.
The administration’s first choice to replace Cohen is James A. Aloisi, Jr., a lobbyist and veteran of state government who has been at the center of the Big Dig and other major transportation projects and controversies for the past three decades, according to a State House official. Aloisi is politically savvy and well connected but was passed over two years ago for the job in part because of his close association with the troubled Big Dig project, which he helped plan. As the Turnpike Authority counsel in the 1990s, he also helped draft the law that put the agency in charge of the Big Dig and its debt — a financial burden driving the current debate over tolls.
Aloisi declined to comment early today.
The new leader will take over at a crucial time for the millions of people who rely on the state’s roads and transit systems each day. The financial crises at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the MBTA, which are both facing crushing debt and yearly deficits, have pushed the transportation debate to the top of Beacon Hill’s agenda as commuters worry about large toll hike proposals this year and the potential for heftier transit fares that could follow.
Cohen said he submitted his resignation today to Patrick, effective Jan. 2. He said he would spend the next several weeks finishing the details of the governor’s controversial transportation reorganization plans, which includes dismantling the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
Full entryCohen out as state transportation secretary
By Noah Bierman and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff
Governor Deval Patrick's top transportation advisor told the Globe today that he is resigning, adding a new level of uncertainty to the administration's increasingly high-profile effort to repair the state's crumbling road and public transit system.
Bernard Cohen, the state transportation secretary, insisted he was not being pushed out, despite diminishing clout and discussions in government and transportation circles that Patrick and his inner circle had grown disenchanted with Cohen's political and communication skills.
The administration's first choice to replace Cohen is James A. Aloisi, Jr., a lobbyist and veteran of state government who has been at the center of the state’s major transportation projects and controversies for the past three decades, according to a well-connected State House source. Aloisi is politically savvy and well connected -- he's written books on Massachusetts politics -- but was passed over two years ago for the job in part because of his close association with the troubled Big Dig project.
Cohen said he submitted his resignation today to Patrick, effective Jan. 2. He said he would spend the next several weeks finishing the details for of the governor's controversial transportation reorganization plan, which includes dismantling the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
''I am leaving of my own accord,'' Cohen said. He said he has no specific plans, but that the governor agreed to his staying on as a consultant to the administration to work on ''several initiatives.'' He would not say which initiatives because he said the details have not been worked out.
Cohen out as state transportation secretary
By Noah Bierman and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff
Governor Deval Patrick's top transportation advisor told the Globe today that he is resigning, adding a new level of uncertainty to the administration's increasingly high-profile effort to repair the state's crumbling road and public transit system.
Bernard Cohen, the state transportation secretary, insisted he was not being pushed out, despite diminishing clout and discussions in government and transportation circles that Patrick and his inner circle had grown disenchanted with Cohen's political and communication skills.
The administration's first choice to replace Cohen is James A. Aloisi, Jr., a lobbyist and veteran of state government who has been at the center of the state’s major transportation projects and controversies for the past three decades, according to a well-connected State House source. Aloisi is politically savvy and well connected but was passed over two years ago for the job in part because of his close association with the troubled Big Dig project.
Aloisi declined to comment early today, and could not be reached after Cohen's resignation became official tonight.
Cohen said he submitted his resignation today to Patrick, effective Jan. 2. He said he would spend the next several weeks finishing the details for of the governor's controversial transportation reorganization plan, which includes dismantling the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
''I am leaving of my own accord,'' Cohen said. He said he has no specific plans, but that the governor agreed to his staying on as a consultant to the administration to work on ''several initiatives.'' He would not say which initiatives because he said the details have not been worked out.
Dartmouth College announces early decisions
By Peter Schworm, GLOBE STAFF
Dartmouth College announced today it has accepted more than a third of next year's freshman class through early decision, admitting about 25 percent of a record 1,550 applicants.
The New Hampshire school reported a 9 percent increase in early applications over last year, mirroring a surge at elite private schools across the country. The trend has surprised college officials, who expected families to apply to multiple schools this year so they could compare financial aid offers rather than locking in to one college.
Through binding early decision programs like Dartmouth, students commit to attend if admitted. About half of the 401 accepted students applied for financial aid, up from 41 percent last year.
"I'm pleased by the growing strength and diversity of our early decision applicant pool," said Maria Laskaris, dean of admissions and financial aid. "We have worked hard to broaden awareness of Dartmouth’s resources and opportunities, particularly our long-standing commitment to expanding access and ensuring affordability."
Of the accepted students, 55 percent come from public high schools, 38 percent from private schools, and 7 percent from parochial schools. Eighty-seven percent rank in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and 27 percent are students of color.
Hundreds of thousands remain without power
By David Abel, Noah Bierman, Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
The number of New England homes and businesses still without power increased slightly today to roughly 300,000 as spring-like temperatures melted lingering ice from Friday's storm, causing thawed branches to spring back and break some new utility lines.
Power companies are urging those whose electricity has not yet been restored to brace for a long haul, with some outages expected to last through the end of the week.
More than 122,000 remained without power at noon in Massachusetts, up from 118,000 this morning. The highest concentration remains in Worcester County, where 54,800 customers have no electricity, according to National Grid.
“The numbers tend to fluctuate, and it could be because of the melting of trees that snap back up and take out more power lines," said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
Full entryCrash closes lane on I-93 north for rush hour
By Globe Staff
The left lane of northbound Interstate 93 in Somerville will remain closed tonight through rush hour because of a jackknifed tractor-trailer loaded with thousands of pounds of recycled paper.
The truck, which crashed at 2:10 p.m. between exits 28 and 29, is too heavy to be moved, according to State Police. After rush hour, additional lanes will be closed so the truck's payload can be removed.
The 2004 Mack tractor-trailer is owned by Empire Recycling in North Billerica. The truck buckled but did not rupture. No one was injured, State Police said.
