Published May 13, 2011

The FBI is searching a home in Dorchester this morning.

According to the FBI, agents are conducting “authorized activity,” but the agency won’t specify what that is or who the target might be.

WBUR’s Fred Thys is at the scene and will be providing updates. Witnesses tell Thys one arrest has been made.

The Globe reports that the Boston Police Department is working in concert with the FBI, but a spokesman for the BPD was not able to confirm that to WBUR.

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UPDATE (11 a.m.): The FBI searched a house on Devon Street in Dorchester. According to area neighbors, the house belongs to a police officer, Thys said.

According to documents on the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds website, the house belonged to Vincent H. Stephens, but was foreclosed upon and now belongs to the Bank of New York. Thys is checking with BPD to see if Stephens is on the force.

Published May 13, 2011

Mitt Romney yesterday defended the universal health care bill he signed into law as governor of Massachusetts. In a speech in Ann Arbor, Mich., Romney addressed what critics say could be his presidential campaign albatross, endorsing the Massachusetts law while distancing himself from the recently passed federal health care law.

As Massachusetts lawmakers prepare to carve up the state’s legislative districts, minority groups are making sure they are being heard early in the redistricting process. The Legislature’s Redistricting Committee will hold another of its regional hearings tomorrow.

Massachusetts residents will have their last chance tomorrow to weigh in on Secure Communities, a controversial immigration program. WBUR’s Bianca Vazquez Toness reports that many states may try to back out of the federal program.

What if I told you that you could grow a lush, green lawn in poor soil and you wouldn’t have to mow it that often? Jackson Madnick, an inventor from Wayland, designed a new grass seed that he says can do just that.

Throughout the playoffs, many assumed that this year would be coach Doc Rivers’ last year on the Celtics bench. According to the Associated Press, however, the team and the coach are working on an extension that would see Rivers coaching the green for many more years.

What we’re following: We’ve sent a reporter to an FBI raid currently in progress in Dorchester. We’ll continue to report on jury selection in the trial of Nancy Kerrigan’s brother and the U.S. Agriculture Secretary’s visit to Boston.

Published May 12, 2011

http://cdn.wbur.org/media/special/2011/wbur_0511_teachers-series-intersect

5/23 Update: Our series has begun. But please continue to add your stories via Intersect.

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Ahead of our upcoming series, “What Makes An A+ Teacher?”, we’ve asked you some specific questions, about rewarding teachers and improving teaching, to guide our reporting.

But we also want to provide a place for you to share memories and anecdotes of teachers who played a role in your life. We’re using the website Intersect.com (that’s the map above), to allow you to share your personal stories with others. Intersect will post your story and map it with the year and place where you came into contact with your special teacher.

We’re hoping you’ll share a name, year and location of a teacher who had an impact on your life. There’s space on Intersect for you to tell us how this teacher impacted your life, too. Who knows, maybe even your teacher will see it and respond to your post?

Here’s how to add your story to our map:

1. Go to Intersect.com;
2. Either create an Intersect account, or sign in with Facebook or Twitter;
3. Once you’re logged in, “share a story,” at the top right of the page;
4. In the available fields, title your entry, compose your entry, enter a “time” for your entry and enter a “place” for your entry;
5. Important: “Tag” your story with the following tag: WBURteachers (that’s how these responses are collected on the map);
6. Save and preview, then publish your story.

Thanks in advance for sharing!

Related:

• Tell Us Your Teacher Stories

Published May 12, 2011

The Massachusetts House unanimously approved a bill yesterday designed to eliminate patronage in the Probation Department. The bill, however, goes against Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan that would see the department put under his direction.

The nearly 20-year-old murder of a Worcester homeless woman has been solved, authorities say, thanks to DNA evidence from the body of an exhumed Alabama man. Denise Comeau was murdered in Worcester in December of 1992, but her killing had been unsolved until now.

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney is scheduled to give an address on health care in Michigan this afternoon. He’s been traveling the country defending Massachusetts’ universal health care coverage law that he signed when he was governor. His defense is going over well among New Hampshire Republicans.

Boston cab drivers say delays and technical problems are making it hard for them to comply with the city’s two-year-old policy requiring cabbies to accept credit cards. WBUR’s Adam Ragusea reports that Boston’s cab drivers voiced their displeasure over the credit card requirement yesterday.

Young triumphed over old, to the dismay of Bostonians. Miami’s new Big Three beat the Celtics’ old, bouncing the team from the playoffs. With Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen looking toward the end of their careers, many wonder if this team’s championship window has closed.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on yesterday’s commuter rail hiccup that caused massive delays, Massachusetts legislators possibly getting a look at photos of Osama bin Laden’s death and Romney’s health care speech.

Published May 11, 2011

Sal DiMasi’s longtime law associate, compelled by federal prosecutors to testify against the man he calls his mentor, took the stand yesterday as a key witness in the former House speaker’s corruption trial. The government alleges Steven Topazio, who is not on trial, funneled payments to DiMasi from a software company hoping to receive a state contract.

The content of ads on T property will be examined more closely, according to the MBTA, after T riders complained about the “Judgment Day” ads seen around town. A group called Family Radio sponsored a nationwide ad campaign claiming that the end of days is approaching — on May 21, to be exact.

Dee Dee Milton traveled from Revere to Kathmandu, Nepal, to adopt a daughter. After she took custody, however, she couldn’t get her daughter a U.S. visa after the U.S. shutdown all adoptions from Nepal, alleging corruption and fraud. Months later, she and her daughter are home in Revere, confounded by confusing U.S. policy.

State Police last night arrested a man on the tarmac at Logan who had allegedly tried to open a plane door mid-flight. Witnesses said the man appeared to be drunk and that the flight crew removed the man from the exit row of the Orlando to Boston flight.

The Celtics face a must-win game in Miami tonight, down 3-1 in their playoff series against the Heat. Is this the end for Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and company?

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on a possible tax on soda, the vigil for reporters being held in Libya and the Constitutional Convention on Beacon Hill.

Published May 10, 2011

In an effort to combat prostitution, the Massachusetts House is considering a bill that would define pimps as “human traffickers.” Advocates say that changing the law would focus law enforcement’s attention on pimps and johns instead of prostitutes.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver announced yesterday that they’re separating after 25 years of marriage. The daughter of the Kennedy dynasty and the former California governor had seemed to be living separate lives since Schwarzenegger left the governor’s office, according to many observers.

The recipient of the nation’s first full face transplant showed off his new life yesterday. Dallas Wiens told the Herald, “To me the face feels natural. It feels like it has become my own.”

The mayor of Newton announced yesterday that he’s entering the race to become the Democratic challenger to Sen. Scott Brown. Mayor Setti Warren is in his second year of his first term as the state’s first popularly elected black mayor.

Jurors in the federal corruption trial of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi got a lesson in lobbying and influence peddling in state government yesterday.

Quincy Market may soon be under new management. The financially struggling management company that currently owns the lease is looking to unload the historic property.

The Celtics gave away Game 4 in overtime last night, 98-90. The team heads back to Miami down 3-1, facing three must-win games.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on the philanthropists who’ve signed away half their fortune, changes to wind turbine ordinances in Falmouth and horse racing at Suffolk Downs.

Published May 9, 2011

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Two days after a 19-year-old became Boston’s ninth homicide victim of the year, Gov. Deval Patrick today proposed tougher gun laws in an attempt to reduce youth violence.

Patrick says he’s filing legislation that “provides public safety officials with new criminal sanctions and investigative tools to go after guns and gangs.” It would also create three new felonies:

• assault and battery with a firearm;
• assault with a firearm;
• being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Additionally, the governor says he wants to create a public-private fund of $10 million to pay for existing anti-violence resource gaps and intervention programs.

“We’re losing too many children to gun- and gang-related violence,” Patrick said. “The life of any young person is not expendable. We have to act and we have to act together.” He spoke at Mattapan’s Mildred Avenue Community Center, and was joined by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Attorney General Martha Coakley and other political and community leaders.

The proposal comes a day after the 15th annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace in Dorchester and two days after a yet-to-be-identified 19-year-old man was shot and killed when an afternoon fight broke out at Dorchester’s Savin Hill T stop.

Saturday’s killing was the city’s ninth homicide — and second teen victim — of the year. Boston’s overall murder figure is down, compared to this point last year.

Earlier:

• Boston Sees Across-The-Board Drop In Crime So Far This Year
• Universal Hub Video: Patrick On Mattapan Quadruple Murders (Sept. 28, 2010)

Published May 9, 2011

Following multiple rate hikes by Comcast, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is asking the federal government to give the city control over cable rates. Menino plans to file an emergency petition with the FCC asking for permission to regulate the cable industry in Boston.

Police departments across Massachusetts are noticing a big jump in certain types of crime and they’re attributing much of it to the rise of prescription drug addiction, WBUR’s Deborah Becker reports.

Stuck in a doctor’s waiting room, it always feels like you’ll never get in to have that sore throat examined. Turns out, wait times in many doctors’ offices across the state have been climbing and many Mass. doctors aren’t taking new patients.

Some analysts predict that sky-high gas prices will tumble back to earth just in time for the summer driving season, according to the Herald. At just about $4 per gallon, falling gas prices will be welcome relief.

It looks like high prices have hit everything that can get you going. Gas prices are high, sure, but the price of coffee beans is at a historic high and that production cost is being passed on to consumers.

The South Shore saw an influx of immigrants from Asia, according to numbers from the latest census. Chinese immigrants are still the region’s most populous immigrant group, but immigrants from India and Vietnam have surged in the last decade.

The Celtics will look to even their playoff series with the Miami Heat tonight at the Garden. Celtics guard Rajon Rondo played through an elbow dislocation in the team’s win Saturday, and he’ll need to continue to energize the team if the Celtics hope to head back to Miami with the series knotted at two.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on the continuing developments in the DiMasi corruption trial, the full face transplant recipient who is ready to leave the hospital for home and Menino’s foray into cable regulation.