Boston.com -- Local news

Boston U eyeing new campuses in India, Abu Dhabi

2009-11-29T17:49:24Z

Boston University officials say they're looking into the possibility of opening campuses in India and Abu Dhabi.

Mass. prisoner escapes while facing new charges

2009-11-29T17:29:30Z

The manhunt continues for a Massachusetts inmate who escaped from a minimum-security prison in Bridgewater shortly after being indicted in connection with a 1996 rape and home invasion.

Northeast scallopers decry cuts as stocks boom

Jay Lindsay, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-29T17:29:28Z

For the past decade, scallopers have supplied the struggling fishing industry with something almost as rare as leftovers of the fried, grilled or bacon-wrapped delicacy: good news.

Technology eyed to locate trapped firefighters

Bob Salsberg, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-29T17:19:23Z

Ten years after a deadly warehouse blaze in Worcester, researchers at a nearby college say they're closer to developing a sophisticated system for locating firefighters who become lost or trapped in a burning building.

Special ag license plate put on hold in Mass.

2009-11-29T16:19:24Z

An effort to create a specialty license plate to promote farming in Massachusetts has been suspended after falling short of its goal.

Scallopers decry cuts amid booming stocks

2009-11-29T16:09:22Z

New England scallopers are wondering why new restrictions have been placed on what has for years been the region's healthiest fishery.

Senate hopefuls vary in travel experience

Matt Viser, Globe Staff — 2009-11-29T09:12:09Z

Stephen Pagliuca speaks Dutch. Alan Khazei boasts of seeing South Africa with President Clinton. And US Representative Michael E. Capuano has traveled the globe, albeit often on the taxpayer dime, meeting with presidents, prime ministers, and American troops.

Bill would ban burning of debris at plants

2009-11-29T04:42:50Z

Environmental and health advocates, including the American Lung Association, are pushing a bill that would ban the use of old construction and demolition debris in wood-burning power plants. The legislation is scheduled to be reviewed at a public hearing Tuesday before the Legislature’s Environmental Committee at the State House. The bill also calls for a study of all proposed wood-burning ...

Tests conducted in death of man in police custody

Jeannie Nuss, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:40:18Z

Few new details emerged yesterday in the case of a Worcester man who died in police custody Thanksgiving Day after he was arrested at a sobriety checkpoint in North Andover.

Seeking happy returns of the season

John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:39:21Z

Stung by a lackluster summer and an ongoing economic squeeze, shop owners here are trying to boost business with a new focus on Christmas they hope will extend the spending season beyond Thanksgiving week, the town’s busiest time of the year.

Anonymous texts aid police, weary tipsters

Denise Lavoie, Associated Press — 2009-11-29T04:37:47Z

A mother in Boston tells police her 8-year-old boy was shot to death in their apartment by gunmen in hooded sweatshirts during a home invasion.

Treasury fields 9 workers at Patriots game

2009-11-29T04:36:47Z

How many Treasury employees does it take to run a lottery promotion? Nine, apparently. That’s how many officials, including Treasurer Tim Cahill, oversaw a second-chance ticket drawing at last Sunday’s Patriots game.

After sudden loss, a woman tries to fill void in her children’s lives

Christopher Tangney, Globe Santa Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:33:51Z

It was 14 months ago when an accident forever changed their lives. “On Sept. 30th, 2008, my husband was killed while working on the family van,’’ a mother of three wrote in a letter to Globe Santa. “The jack slipped and the van crushed his chest.’’

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2009-11-29T04:33:51Z

BU considers campuses in India, Abu Dhabi

Tracy Jan, Globe Staff — 2009-11-29T04:31:16Z

First came Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where Boston University opened a dental school in 2008. Now, if all goes well, the university may set up outposts in Abu Dhabi and in India.

MBTA veteran delays retirement to become acting chief operating officer

Noah Bierman, Globe Staff — 2009-11-29T04:30:01Z

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority quietly made a promotion earlier this month that will play a crucial behind-the-scenes role in the life of riders.

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2009-11-29T04:30:01Z

As luster fades, silversmith faces eviction

Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff — 2009-11-29T04:26:32Z

Otto Suchy has spent a lifetime rescuing treasures from ruin. The sculptor and silversmith restored a 3,000-year-old bracelet that was caked in rust and a mangled bronze candlestick that someone had run over with a car. He has lifted the tarnish from suits of armor and restored the gleam to a silver sword.

Search continues for prison escapee

Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff — 2009-11-29T04:23:32Z

Manson Brown, an inmate with a history of violent crime and escape from confinement, walked off from a minimum-security setting in Bridgewater on Friday - a week after prosecutors had publicly linked Brown to the rape of a Cambridge woman more than a decade ago, but before anyone in the state prison system could place him in a more secure ...

A place for dreams and a better future

James Vaznis, Globe Staff — 2009-11-29T04:21:36Z

Just after sunset, in an office suite across from a pair of housing developments, two dozen teenagers scribbled down answers during a trial run of an MCAS exam. In another room, an off-duty teacher read test questions to two learning-disabled teenagers. And in a computer lab nearby, about a dozen teens quietly clicked keyboards as they wrote college ...

While visions of Santa Claus danced in his head . . .

Sam Allis, Globe columnist — 2009-11-29T04:18:11Z

You knew something weird was going on with Jack Sanderson in July when he bleached his beard and hair white.

Living in Unity

Sarah Schweitzer, Globe Staff — 2009-11-29T04:13:18Z

The land was gorgeous. Pastures bounded by forests and overlooked by the distant Dixmont hills. And that was the problem.

Canton entrepreneur faces adversity head on, refocusing and offering a lesson in perseverance

Scott Kirsner, Globe Columnist — 2009-11-29T03:57:31Z

Jan. 14, 2008, was going to be a big day for Allen Goldman, a cosmetics entrepreneur based in Canton. His Skindinavia product would be featured several times throughout the day on the Home Shopping Network, and he had flown to St. Petersburg, Fla., where the cable channel is based, for the occasion.

For Democrats - Alan Khazei for Senate

2009-11-29T03:13:53Z

In supporting Alan Khazei, the Globe believes that this state's future depends on new ideas. The 48-year-old offers a strong vision for success in the Senate, channeling the energy of activist groups and private-sector policy incubators while dedicating himself to the laborious task of building legislative coalitions.

Portraits of courage, in oil and words

Sam Allis, Globe Staff — 2009-11-29T01:59:42Z

Chris McGurk is number 31. He sits motionless in a chair, his back straight. A thin afternoon light from the north pours through the windows to his right, illuminating his shaved head and strong face. He carries on a conversation as Matthew Mitchell paints his portrait - the latest in a series on war veterans that will grow ...

Harvard ignored warnings about investments

Beth Healy, Globe Staff — 2009-11-29T01:57:36Z

It happened at least once a year, every year. In a roomful of a dozen Harvard University financial officials, Jack Meyer, the hugely successful head of Harvard’s endowment, and Lawrence Summers, then the school’s president, would face off in a heated debate. The topic: cash and how the university was managing - or mismanaging - its basic operating funds.

Dog owner will face charges in 2 bitings

Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T01:32:12Z

The Hingham art gallery owner whose English mastiff bit two people - including Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield’s wife - is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow to face charges based on the incidents, which occurred about a year apart.

Dukakis to endorse Capuano in Senate race

Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff — 2009-11-29T01:29:33Z

Making his first endorsement in a statewide Democratic primary since leaving the governor’s office, Michael S. Dukakis will declare his support for Michael E. Capuano in the US Senate race at an event today with Capuano in Brookline.

When debt lacks value

Steven Syre, Globe Columnist — 2009-11-27T04:07:57Z

Peter Brooke has been around long enough to see everything in the worlds of venture capital and private equity. He doesn’t like a lot of what he sees today.

No arrests, no answers

Globe Columnist — 2009-11-27T04:04:00Z

Sergio Ibañez should be wrapping up his first semester at the University of Massachusetts about now, pursuing the degree he coveted in electrical engineering.

God’s work on the block

Kevin Cullen, Globe Columnist — 2009-11-26T05:20:55Z

So, a priest, a rabbi, a minister and an imam walk into a prison . . .

Relief and uncertainty for fans of Brigham’s

Johanna Seltz, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-26T01:31:33Z

HINGHAM - Ice cream lovers here exhaled in relief last week when they learned the iconic Brigham’s in Hingham Square would remain open despite the news that the corporation is going bankrupt.

Progress on town center

Calvin Hennick, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-26T01:17:12Z

Wayland officials say they hope workers will break ground in the spring on a new town center project after Town Meeting last week voted to remove a hurdle that could have tripped it up.

Redemption, and gratitude

Yvonne Abraham, Globe Columnist — 2009-11-25T06:23:51Z

If I could, I’d like to be, a great big movie star... Bobcat Smith stands in a dark apartment in a Roxbury housing development, arms outstretched, singing. Decades of bad decisions may have taken their toll on the rest of him, but his voice is still rich and sweet, like a Neville brother’s.

Age-based road tests make sense

Sam Allis, Globe Columnist — 2009-11-22T04:50:53Z

There has been much sturm und drang up at the State House around mandatory tests for elderly drivers. But then there is always much sturm und drang around any legislation that affects the elderly. The ancient adage - never legislate anything to do with children or pets - was amended long ago to include the elderly, who have a hair ...

The ghosts of Thanksgivings past

Beverly Beckham — 2009-11-21T19:58:24Z

The best thing about the holidays is the worst thing about the holidays. The past comes calling. Sometimes it taps you on the shoulder. Sometimes it tackles you. Sometimes you laugh at what you remember. Sometimes you cry.

Attack ads to spice up Senate primary

Alex Beam, Globe Columnist — 2009-11-20T05:00:00Z

People say that the Democratic primary race for Ted Kennedy's seat is boring, and they are right. There's not a doughnut's worth of difference among the pretenders. Each claims to be a super-liberal, eager to empty out the US Treasury to placate whatever interest group they happen to find themselves in front of.

Global view on AIDS drives lab

James F. Smith, Globe Staff — 2009-02-17T05:23:39Z

Dr. Bruce D. Walker, an acclaimed AIDS specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, didn't really want to go to South Africa. He was engrossed in his laboratory's AIDS research in Boston, and a trip to see his team's field work seemed a risky distraction.

Homeless families face strict new rules

David Abel, Globe Staff — 2009-02-17T05:00:00Z

Less than two years after vowing to end homelessness in Massachusetts, the Patrick administration has proposed new regulations that it acknowledges could force hundreds of homeless families back on the street.

Paid sex, then threats bring ID debate

Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff — 2009-02-17T05:00:00Z

He was a prominent businessman from the Boston area, married and in his 60s, who later told authorities that he had merely wanted a "last hurrah" - sex with a young woman.

Autopsy today for teen who left party

Peter Schworm and Brian Ballou, Globe Staff — 2009-02-17T05:00:00Z

WELLESLEY - Elizabeth Mun often invited friends from Dana Hall School to her home for slumber parties, so her former classmates at the Wellesley boarding school could get away from campus for a while. The teenagers would stay up late catching up, talking, and laughing for hours.

2 Romney estates hit the market

David Abel, Globe Staff — 2009-02-17T05:00:00Z

The "cabin" in Deer Valley, Utah, which overlooks a reservoir and mountains, comes fully furnished with custom-made light fixtures, specially sculpted fireplace screens, and eight full bathrooms. Called the "perfect retreat," it is 9,500 square feet on 11 acres. The asking price: $5,250,000.

Bay State's top jurist says courts are in crisis

Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff — 2009-02-17T05:00:00Z

The economic downturn could have a devastating impact on the American justice system as courts are forced to lay off employees and cut down on court hours, Massachusetts' top judge said yesterday.

UMass has most of state's top-paid workers

Peter Schworm, Globe Staff — 2009-02-17T05:00:00Z

For a university laying off staff and eyeing a hefty fee increase, dominating the just-released list of top-paid state workers can't help but come across as ill-timed.

1 dead in alleged drunken-driving crash

2009-02-17T05:00:00Z

HARWICH A 19-year-old Dennis man is dead after an alleged drunk driver crashed into a utility pole. Steven Saling was a passenger in a van driven by Eric St. Cyr when it slammed into a utility pole and snapped it in half Sunday night. Emergency workers found Saling's body in the wreckage, with St. Cyr and a second passenger standing ...

Police kill pet chimp after woman is injured

Associated Press — 2009-02-17T05:00:00Z

STAMFORD, Conn. - A large pet chimpanzee attacked a woman visiting a Stamford home yesterday, leaving her with serious facial injuries, police said.

T loses bid to expand security grants

Noah Bierman, Globe Staff — 2008-09-22T04:00:00Z

The federal government has rejected a request by the MBTA and other big-city transit agencies to use antiterrorism grants to install systems that detect chemical threats in subway stations.