Matthew Bent and Denver Jarvis, both 15, and Jesus Mendez, 16, along with two others, are accused of pouring rubbing alcohol over Brewer and setting him alight in an apartment complex in Deerfield Beach, Florida on Oct. 12.

According to investigators quoted on CNN.com, the day before Brewer was set on fire, Bent approached him to collect the $40 he allegedly owed Bent for a video game. Brewer had no money so Bent took his father’s bicycle as collateral. Brewer called the police and Bent was later arrested.

The next day, Bent and four other boys confronted Brewer and called him a “snitch”. They then set him on fire.

After being set on fire, Brewer made the conscious decision to jump into a nearby swimming pool, but not until 65 per cent of his body had already suffered severe burns.

Witnesses of the incident say Mendez set Brewer on fire with a lighter after Bent instigated the attack. Mendez admitted to setting Brewer on fire and acknowledged that it was a “bad decision” in an official statement.

Brewer was recently taken out of intensive care at the University of Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center, but still faces many months of recovery there. Doctors say his face and hands were largely spared, though they say he will need multiple skin grafts and surgeries, CNN reports. Up until last week Brewer was breathing through a ventilator.

Bent, Jarvis and Mendez are all being charged as adults. Two other teens involved are being charged as juveniles and their names cannot be released by law.

Bent’s lawyer has publicly denounced the fact that his client is being charged as an adult.

The three boys will return to court on Jan. 17, 2010. If convicted they could face up to 30 years in prison.

The most recent and rather important discovery is the white marble flight of steps found during excavations undertaken in the course of archaeological surveys for Line C of the underground railroad in Piazza Venezia.

After the discovery of the building that perhaps supported Nero’s rotating dining room on the Palatine, excavations for Line C of Rome’s subway brought to light a building that, according to the first hypotheses made by archaeologists, is thought to be Hadrian’s Academy, built in 133 A.D. to host poets, rectors, philosophers, men of letters, scientists and magistrates.

Hadrian, or Publius Aelius Hadrianus, ruled from 117-138 AD. He was an avid philosopher who was commonly referred to as one of the “five good emperors.” Hadrian’s Wall, in Northern England was built after a great war in what was then called Britannia.

It was an unexpected find as there is no trace of this building even in the Forma Urbis Romae, the map of ancient Rome engraved on marble slabs in the days of Septimius Severus (2nd Century A.D.). One of the sources used by archaeologists is the archaeological map created in the early 20th Century by the scholar Guglielmo Gatti. On this map Gatti in fact rediscovered a late-ancient domus and a little further south a number of monumental structures, which were really therefore the beginnings of the now hypothesised Athenaeum.

At the center, where the emperor and the poets wrote verses, is a granite floor with ochre coloured listels. These are the same kinds of floors used for the libraries Hadrian had built to the sides of Trajan’s Column fifty meters further along.

Now, the hypothesis that the Athenaeum may be in that never previously excavated corner of Piazza Venezia is extremely fascinating for history, archeology and architecture buffs.

Terral Ainooson, 25, was arrested along with roommate, Ryan Oshima, 23, on November 11, when police found more than a dozen plastic bags of marijuana, and seized cash, a grinder and a scale after searching their Sudan Street apartment.

Each was charged with drug possession with intent to distribute.

Ainooson, elected student body president in fall 2008, is a senior International Management major, according to the school’s student senate Web site. He has a criminal record. Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, said records show Ainooson had faced similar charges at least once before. The records did not indicate other details about the charges except to say they were not brought in Suffolk County, Wark said.

Oshima is a former UMass Boston student, a school spokesman said. The school’s official athletics Web site says he’s from La Jolla, Calif. and played baseball at Umass for three years.

In the raid, police knocked on the apartment door, but when no one responded officers forced their way in. They found the suspects in a bedroom, detained them and read them their Miranda rights, according to a police report. After officers showed them a search warrant, the pair volunteered the locations of the drugs, some of which were hidden in a Cheerios cereal box, and paraphernalia. The report also indicates that Ainooson and Oshima had been under investigation by the drug unit prior to the raid.

Oshima faces up to two years in jail or a fine or both. Ainooson, as a repeat offender, faces at least one year in prison or a fine or up to $10,000, or both.

Superintendent Carol R. Johnson unveiled a five-year strategic plan for the Boston Public Schools, outlining new direction and priorities for “closing access and achievement gaps and graduating all BPS students from high school>”

“The days of business as usual are over,” said Johnson. “If we intend to see all, not just some, of our schools become centers of excellence we must take bold and swift action. Every student in our city has the right to a high-quality education. I believe this plan is the road map that will lead us to new heights, where Boston can serve as a model for every urban school district in America.”

Johnson identified 14 schools that are under-performing:

• William Blackstone Elementary School in the South End
• Paul Dever Elementary School in Dorchester
• Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School in Roxbury
• E. Greenwood K-8 School in Hyde Park
• Curtis Guild Elementary School in East Boston
• John P. Holland Elementary School in Dorchester
• John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Jamaica Plain
• William Monroe Trotter Elementary School in Dorchester
• Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury
• Maurice J. Tobin K-8 School in Roxbury
• Henry Dearborn Middle School in Roxbury
• Harbor Middle School in Dorchester
• The English High School in Jamaica Plain
• Odyssey High School in South Boston

Johnson wants to focus on strengthening teaching and leadership among school administrators, copying best practices at “working” schools and looking at ways to streamline services throughout the school district.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, fresh off his re-election victory and a recent knee injury, sent a letter to the Boston School Committee in support of the Superintendent’s proposals.

“There may be some who will find it easier and safer to sit back, to stall – to use our stretched dollars as an excuse to postpone this critical work,” Mayor Menino wrote. “To these people, I say time has run out. We can no longer wait to take action. From this day forward, we must collectively re-commit ourselves and pool our energies. With diminishing resources, it will be all the more important to think creatively and to rely on those measures that are cost effective, but reap big returns.”

Toby Ryan, 17, was arraigned today in a Chelsea court and also charged with armed robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm and assault and battery. He was also charged, in an East Boston court, with receving a stolen motor vehicle. Bail was set at $1,500 and $5,000 respectively.

A 14-year-old boy who is believed to be the second perpetrator was taken into custody today but was not arraigned. He is expected to be arraigned tomorrow in a juvenile court.

Officers spoke with the Dominos Pizza delivery man shortly after receiving a report regarding the armed robbery. The man said he was robbed by two teenaged gunmen, named “Toby” and “Macho”, both of  whom he proceeded to describe. He said the teens demanded his car keys and cash at gunpoint.

Revere Police contacted Boston Police, who were familiar with the names and descriptions given by the victim. One hour after receiving the report, Boston Police located the stolen Toyota Corolla near Vallar Road. An attempt to stop it failed, as the driver and passengers sped away and then fled the vehicle.

Local officers then paid a visit to the 14-year-old’s home. The boy was not present but his mother told police he was with ‘Toby”.

The officers then went to Ryan’s home, where he was present. Ryan, who was allegedly sweating heavily, denied ever having left his home. He was taken into custody.

Officers later found “Macho” in  the lobby of a Waldemar Road building just a street over from Ryan. He was taken into custody as well.

Ryan’s trial will resume on Dec. 15.

Eaton has found an artist’s office job — a management position that calls for raw creativity and that satisfies both her idealism and her longing for community. She is Project Manager of Outside the Lines, an art-based day program for adults with developmental disabilities run out of a giant warehouse on the Tufts University campus. The people served by O.T.L. are not simply given art projects to do, they are managed as artists — it is both a workshop and a gallery space in which participants’ artwork graces the walls and gets sold at shows.

“We’re different from other programs,” Eaton explains, “because a lot of them are work-related programs where people mostly just do piece work.”

O.T.L. is an experimental offshoot of the nonprofit organization, Resources for Human Development (R.H.D.). “We call ourselves an ‘alternative day program.’ We give them work that’s more meaningful, I would say.”

Eaton and the staff she oversees are different from most social workers. They are themselves, artists, and they know how to treat their clients as such. Everyone in the building shares the same talents and obsessions, and they enjoy learning from one another.

“Hiring artists works, because we’re all sensitive, we’re intuitive. We’re free with them, and we can treat them like human beings, rather than, like, ‘You’re a patient and we’re going to analyze you,’ we can just be like ‘We are who we are and you are who you are,’ and we appreciate them for that.”

Eaton is 30 years old. She is tall, and although she is soft-spoken, her stature and her constant state of calm make her a convincing figure of authority. She could not, however, be easily mistaken for corporate. While her office is the only closed room with a desk in the scattered warehouse, her speech and dress are informal. Today, she wears a short skirt over a pair of jeans, a dark blouse and a colorful silk scarf.

Eaton was not always specifically drawn to working with the disabled. She has, however, always been an artist. Before O.T.L., she struggled to find an artistic community that felt like home. At Mount Holyoke College, she majored in art and anthropology, and while these disciplines excited her, the “art crowd” she discovered, did not.

A painting by Jose DeJesus, who was awarded “Best in Show” in a recent statewide exhibition at the capitol building for his piece Man from Burma

“I actually got really fed up with the whole ‘Art World.’ It can be really inclusive, if you’re in it. People are making pieces that are speaking to other artists—meaning that those other artists have prior knowledge of art history, or contemporary artists — rather than having an original vision of how to express themselves, with the idea that they can reach people through what they’re creating.

“But art for me is really just doing a thing that I like. Something that I feel like I always have to do — is part of my life in some way. I have to manipulate materials and make pretty things — well not necessarily pretty, but visually interesting. When I was at school though, I got involved with that whole scene.”

Eaton spent her junior year studying photography in Florence, Italy. Her exploration of this new medium combined with her experience abroad and her studies in anthropology led to a new inspiration.

“I wanted to travel, I wanted to tell people about what’s going on in the world through art. I was idealistic, and I did do that for a while. I did travel the world and take pictures. I went to Southeast Asia. I went to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos. That was pretty awesome. It was really amazing.”

Before long, however, she ran into a barrier. Just as she hadn’t been able to connect with what she perceived as the art world, she came to feel that photojournalism prevented her from connecting with the people she found on her travels.

“I took pictures. I mean, I had my camera with me. I was a person with a camera. People would ask me for money for taking their pictures. That’s when I realized that it wasn’t what I really wanted to do.”

Back from the States and out of college, Eaton continued to pursue her skills where she could, but there was a lot missing. “I was working for a jewelry designer and working as a house painter,” she recalls with a laugh, “so the stuff I was doing was kind of isolating and I really felt like working on my own artwork was self-indulgent. I really wanted to be able to reach out to people and be creative.”

Eaton heard about O.T.L. from a friend who worked there before it had a management structure. She began on the floor, as a “Direct Support Professional,” and was prompted once R.H.D. decided a manager was necessary. Her first breakthrough with an artist did not come while working on an art project, but it did call for an important kind of creativity. She was working with a woman known for acting out.

“If she’s not getting what she wants she’ll do temper tantrum kinds of things like, screaming and whining. So she started to do that one day, and I started whining back, and I made it into like, oh, you sound like a seagull,’ Eaton remembers, laughing. “And it totally just threw her off. She thought it was hilarious. So she started doing it in a way where she was calling like a seagull, and then I was calling back like a seagull, and it was just really funny.”

Eaton calls this “redirecting,” and it is central to the work of O.T.L. where one of the defining practices in working with the developmentally disabled is never to punish, never to provide negative attention. As much as in designing art projects, this is where the creativity and sensitivity of the artist are called upon. It’s about finding ways to make abnormal behavior OK, to laugh together and direct focus back to the shared value of art-making. This seems to be exactly the atmosphere Eaton has been searching for, and she is not alone.

“There is a strong feeling of community here,” says Allison Stroh, an Art Therapist, recently hired for the ‘Direct Support’ role. “Everyone here feels part of it. When Else walks in, all of the artists smile. She has a million tricks up her sleeve to make them feel at ease. Meanwhile, she’s got me singing, dancing, working on giant monsters– stuff I never thought I’d get to do at work.”

“We really try to make it so that everyone here just feels comfortable being who they are. No matter who they are,” says Eaton. You know we’re all awkward and weird in some ways and we just let that be. Both the staff and the clients, their personalities really come out here.”

Outside of Eaton’s office, a heavyset man wearing an unattached pair of earphones is showing off his brand new cowboy boots — from L.L. Bean, he boasts — to a bespectacled twenty-something in skinny jeans. The subject exhausted, he shows off his latest glowing cityscape. The kid looks impressed. So does The Hulk.

The black Labrador retriever, who was trained to detect improvised explosive devices in the Oruzgan province, was recovered by a US soldier at an isolated patrol base recently.

The US soldier, known only by his first name John, was aware his Australian Special Forces colleagues were missing one of their explosive detection dogs.

John said it was immediately obvious that Sabi was no ordinary canine.

“I took the dog and gave it some commands which it understood,” he said.

At the time of her disappearance Sabi was coming to the end of her second tour of duty in Afghanistan, having previously deployed to Oruzgan in 2007.

Sabi was declared MIA in September 2008 after the combined Australian, US and Afghan National Army convoy was ambushed by an insurgent force.

Nine Australian soldiers including Sabi’s handler were injured during the attack After the engagement Trooper Mark Donaldson earned the Victoria Cross, Australia’s highest military honor for bravery.

After more than a year in South Afghanistan, Sabi was flown to Tarin Kowt to be reunited with one of her Australian Special Forces handlers, who knew instantly it was the team’s missing dog.

“I nudged a tennis ball to her with my foot and she took it straight away. It’s a game we used to play over and over during her training,” the trainer said.

“It’s amazing, just incredible to have her back.”

Police told the television station that, of youths arrested, 55 were charged with alcohol possession after the blew above .02 percent blood-alcohol content. Others were released to their parents.

The party’s hosts, three Colby-Sawyer students, identified by the television station as Lindsey Randlett, 21, Margaux O’Connell, 21, and Kayla Flynn, 20, were charged with hosting an underage drinking party.

The three live in a house that’s owned by the college and is located 200 yards away from a police station.

Colby-Sawyer College President Thomas C. Galligan Jr. said it was not immediately known what action the college would take. He said, in an e-mail to the news station: “We are aware of the incident last night but have not had a chance to review everything that happened and have not made any decision yet about what processes the college might undertake. Our primary concern is with our students’ education, well-being and safety. We are grateful no one was hospitalized or otherwise injured and will strive. As we understand more, to use these events as an opportunity for community discussion and education. It is normally not our policy to pursue College Community Council processes with events which occur off campus; however, we have not yet determined whether what we will do in this matter. I also do not believe that the lease specifically mentions under age drinking but in my experience it is not common in residential leases to expressly mention many types of illegal conduct. That failure to expressly include does not mean the conduct is condoned.”

The Army Criminal Investigation Command told reporters Thursday that additional charges may be pending.

Hasan is now officially the defendant in the killing of 12 soldiers and a civilian employee on November 5. He was wounded by a heroic civilian police officer who took three shots, herself.

CNN reported Geisy Arruda, a 20-year-old student at the Bandeirante University (also known as Uniban), was escorted out of a campus building by police after her short red dress drew excessive heckling from her fellow students on Oct. 22. The dress she wore to class had three-quarter-length sleeves and fit loosely until the bottom, where it fit snugly over her butt and upper thighs. When she was escorted out, she wore a long white lab coat.

Cellphone videos of the incident quickly went viral on YouTube and Arruda was expelled. It wasn’t long before protests were staged on both sides of the controversy. This week, the public outcry in Arruda’s favor won-out and Uniban reluctantly allowed her to return. However, she had not returned to classes as of Tuesday.

“The University Council [which expelled Arruda] followed procedure and was very brave because it upheld the rules of the university, even with all the attention,” Uniban Assistant Rector Ellis Brown said. “The decision to readmit the student is not an admission of a mistake but a look at the issue from another perspective.”

Brown also insists that it was not the dress that was the problem, it was Arruda’s behavior. She was apparently entering class as if she was in a Carnaval parade, hiking up the dress and twirling to show it off. Arruda has denied this claim.

Arruda told CNN affiliate TV Record, “I was the victim, so I intend to keep going [to classes]. I don’t want to cause any more problems. I only want to study. I want to enter the classroom, sit down and study, do my tests and go to the next course.”

Here is a statement released by organizers of the event that Levasseur was scheduled to speak at:

The U.S. Parole Commission has unexpectedly denied Ray Luc Levasseur permission to travel to Massachusetts tomorrow. Though Ray Luc Levasseur will not attend, the talk and forum entitled “The Great Western Massachusetts Sedition Trial: Twenty Years Later” will nonetheless take place on Thursday November 12 at 7:15 p.m. at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in School of Management Room 137. Participants will include sedition trial defendant Pat Levasseur, members of the 1989 Springfield sedition trial legal defense team, and a juror from the trial.

Levasseur was released from federal prison in 2004 after serving 18 years for his involvement in United Freedom Front. The group was linked to shootouts with police, bank robberies, and a series of bombings. He was invited to be part of a panel Thursday night speaking about terrorism. The news has sparked outrage from law enforcement and political leaders and very little defense from freedom of speech advocates.

As is with any controversial, or even outwardly unpopular event, police have to be present to maintain peace. This happens all the time — even black officers have been forced to work security details protecting Ku Klux Klan members marching down city streets across the country.

“The (International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Local 432) union leadership wishes it to be recognized that the Local, on behalf of the Officers who will be forced to work this event for public safety concerns plan to donate all proceeds obtained for working this
paid over-time detail to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund in the name of Fallen New Jersey State Trooper Philip Joseph Lamonaco,” said Gerald Perkins, a union spokesman.

Muhammad and his teenage accomplice shot people, leaving a trail of 10 dead, as they purchased gasoline, went shopping, and mowed their lawns.

The AP said Muhammad gave no final statement before his lethal injection at a symbolic 9:11 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Va.

Preliminary sketch of Plymouth Rock Studios front gate, which may never exist

The Boston Globe has reported that mere weeks before groundbreaking, the $550 million in funding for the construction of Hollywood East in Massachusetts has been pulled, leaving the future of Plymouth Rock Studios, the movie industry in Metro Boston, and countless jobs up in question.

A week ago, the Globe started investigating Prosperity International LLC, of Orlando, Fla., finding “its track record was thin, at best.” Today the studio said it was cutting ties with its would-be financier.

In January, we said Plymouth Rock Studios would be a marvel in green technology, being a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified structure with a 21st century earth-friendly setup. The studio, when finished, is supposed to have 14 sound stages and 10 acres of outdoor sets.

Now it’s just a question mark.

Of those, 34 were injured from gunshot wounds. Fifteen remained in the hospital today, and 19 have been released. Three are still in intensive care. Twelve are in recovery rooms.

The event will go on next year, August 20-28, but the pen company will drop its sponsorship when its contract is up after that.

The register reported that Pilot Pen has been sponsor of the annual event, which features a men’s and women’s tournament, since 1996. It is held in downtown New Haven, near the Yale Bowl and Yale Field in the 13,000-seat Connecticut Tennis Center. The newspaper reported that Pilot Pen put up $1.4 million annually for the tournament.

“We firmly believe that Pilot Pen Corporation’s long-term support of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament has helped us grow the sport of tennis in the Northeast and put us in a solid position to attract a new title sponsor,” tournament director Anne Worcester said in a statement “This tournament has developed into an entertainment event featuring some of the world’s best professional tennis players as well as many off-court events which have expanded our reach to all types of fans. A combined men’s and women’s tournament is a very desirable sports property and will appeal to national and regional partners alike.”

“We have enjoyed being the title sponsor of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament” said Dennis Burleigh, President and CEO of Pilot Pen Corporation of America in the same statement. “Unfortunately, the economic recession has severely impacted our consumers and the office products industry in particular, necessitating this difficult decision.”

CID would not speculate but said it was looking for anyone who “may have inadvertently left the scene” of the November 5 shooting that left 13 people dead.

“The above mentioned individuals will greatly assist the Fort Hood office of the U.S. Army CID and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in their bullet
trajectory analysis of the scene to ensure the comprehensiveness of the ongoing investigations,” the Army said in a statement.

Twelve soldiers and one civilian employee were killed.

Lt. Col. Juanita L. Warman, 55, of Havre De Grace, Md. She was assigned to the 1908th Medical Company, Independence, Mo.

Maj. Libardo Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge, Va. He was assigned to the 467th Medical Detachment, Madison, Wis.

Capt. John P. Gaffaney, 54, of San Diego, Calif. He was assigned to the 1908th Medical Company, Independence, Mo.

Capt. Russell Seager, 51, of Racine, Wis. He was assigned to the 467th Medical Company, Madison, Wis.

Staff Sgt. Justin Decrow, 32, of Plymouth, Ind. He was assigned to the 16th Signal Company, 62nd Signal Battalion, 11th Signal Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wis. She was assigned to the 467th Medical Company, Madison, Wis.

Spc. Jason Hunt, 22, of Tillman, Okla. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Spc. Frederick Greene, 29, of Mountain City, Tenn. He was assigned to the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas.

Pfc. Aaron Nemelka, 19, of West Jordan, Utah. He was assigned to the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas.

Pfc. Michael Pearson, 22, of Bolinbrook, Ill. He was assigned to the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas.

Spc. Kham Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minn. He was assigned to the Forward Support Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas.

Pvt. Francheska Velez, 21, of Chicago, Ill. She was assigned to the 15th Combat Support Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas.

Chief Warrant Officer retired Michael Cahill of Cameron, Texas. He was a civilian employee on Fort Hood.

Jackie Liebergott, Emerson’s president, in a campus-wide e-mail, reported that Starring died this week.

“He was a bright and talented young man, earning Dean’s list honors every semester,” Liebergott said. “He was a former President and active member of the student A Capella group Noteworthy, lighting up the stage each time he took the lead. He also served as a Student Ambassador in the Office of Admission, providing campus tours for prospective students and their families.”

Liebergott called Starring’s death “an enormous loss” for the college.

Emerson is making staff at the Counseling Center and Center for Spiritual Life available for students tomorrow from 3-4:30 p.m. in Emerson’s Campus Center. A memorial service will be held before the end of the semester.

Locally, Representative Edward J. Markey (D), issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed a historic bill to reform the health care system Saturday night:

“This historic vote for comprehensive health care reform is exactly what I came here to Congress do,” said Markey. “Thirty three years ago, I called for comprehensive health care reform in my first congressional campaign. And today, I am proud to say we are closer than ever to fulfilling that dream.”

Quickly responding to the bill’s passage, Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) released his own statement tonight:

“Do not be mistaken, the only thing this health care bill will do is make our nation sicker. It will cut care for our seniors, it will kill millions of jobs, it will raise taxes, and it will strangle our economy,” Coffman said,
“Also, be clear — a vote against this bill is not a vote against reform. It is a vote against reckless spending that jeopardizes our children’s future, and their children’s future. It is a vote against a trillion dollar government takeover of health care, and it is a vote against the radical liberal agenda that threatens our freedom. I cannot in good conscience support a bill our nation cannot afford and does not need – this 1,990 page monstrosity is just that.”

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America expressed their own disappointment with the bill:

“Just last week, the House Democratic Leadership unveiled a 1,990 page bill that was touted as the byproduct of months of negotiations between House Democratic Leadership and members of the moderate and more liberal factions of their caucus yet the ‘revised’ bill closely resembles the original bill,” says Robert Rusbuldt, IIABA president & CEO. “The Big ‘I’ is greatly disappointed that after months of negotiations, hearings, votes and debate in three House committees we seem to be back on square one: a bad bill that includes a ‘public option’ and deprives the American people of true choices in their health care.”

The major labor union, AFL-CIO, struck back, supporting the decision to pass the bill:

“By voting for the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the U.S. House of Representatives took a momentous step toward realizing fair, quality, affordable health care for America,” the union said. “We heard a lot of rhetoric today, but in the end it boils down to this: It is time to say “yes” to a more secure future for Americans – and that is how the majority in the House of Representatives answered. … We applaud Speaker Pelosi, the other members of the leadership and the majority in the House of Representatives for bringing us closer than ever to our long-held goal.”

Excavations in the Vigna Barberini area resulted in the discovery of a room imitating the earth’s movement. According to scholars this could well be the room mentioned by Svetonius in the “Life of the Caesars.”

The author described that marvel of engineering as follows: “It turned on itself continuously, day and night, just like the world,” situated in a villa that spread from the Palatine to the Esquiline Hill. He added that “it was lined in gold and adorned with precious stones and shells and pearls with the ceilings of the dining room made of mobile ivory blocks and with pipes that could transport flowers or perfume to launch over the guests.”

Until recently many scholars had thought that this dining room was the Octagonal Hall on the Oppio Hill. In recent days a different archaeological truth has emerged on the Palatine Hill.

According to many ancient authors, Nero’s residence spread as far as the Colle Oppio, but a large part of it was on the Palatine. Preliminary digs carried out by the Archaeological Department, with Maria Antonietta Tomei as the Scientific Director, work directed by the architect Antonella Tomasello and carried out by a team lead by Francoise Villedieu, revealed a circular room with no similarity to others in Roman architecture.

The particular nature of this find is that it is a rotating room and that mechanisms filled with a yet to be analysed dark substance were also discovered. It is this last detail, as well as the building’s circular shape and the surprising power of the central column, unprecedented in Roman architecture, that allow one to envisage the presence of a floor, perhaps made of wood, resting on round mechanisms capable therefore of making it turn. This hypothesis is corroborated by the exceptional position of the building, which dates back to after the fire of 64 A.D. and confirms Nero’s taste for the spectacular. It is in fact overlooking the valley of the Coliseum, at the time covered by an artificial lake, and with a 360-degree view from the Capitol to the Aventino, from the Celio to Velia’s Hill.

The room’s rotation is linked to the figure of the sun, around which Nero’s ideology was based. One must now wait and see if conduits are also discovered which would explain how the higher level built in wood would have rotated, like a windmill or a merry-go-round.

There is a great deal of evidence indicating that this really is the coenatio. Svetonius says that the rotating room was the “main room”, hence on the Palatine, precisely where the newly discovered room is situated. The column and the nearby two-level archways are unique in Roman architecture and have no apparent function. There is no sign of walls, hence the brickwork wheel must have been used as the base for the rotating level that hosted dinners, parties and performances. Finally, another piece of evidence confirming this hypothesis, is that the building is on the same axis as other rooms in the Domus Aurea and hence there is continuity.

These excavations on the Palatine Hill, which were started last June, were addressed at reinforcing the corner overlooking the valley of the Coliseum and were carried out with ordinary financing from Rome’s Special Department for Archaeological Heritage. Considered the exceptional nature of this find, new funds have been allocated to continue excavations and bring to light the entire building so as to verify the hypothesis that this is indeed the coenatio rotunda, and also ensuring that less pressure is applied to the corner of the terrace of the Vigna Barberini.

Sensational discoveries such as this dining room of Nero’s always reopen the debate about the fact that the State should invest its resources in the necessary restoration of what is known and the discovery of what remains unknown. Our cultural legacy is one of Italy’s most important economic driving forces and it would therefore be appropriate to exploit it far more.

Based on Boston’s rich musical history (Boston boasts one of the oldest choral companies in the United States, and one of the most acoustically exact concert halls in the world), Steppin’ Out focuses on the city’s tradition of jazz. Past headliners of the event include famed percussionist Tito Puente (2007), jazz and R&B singer Roberta Flack (2003), and contemporary R&B singer Lalah Hathaway (2008).

This year will bring as many as 20 musicians to feature the talent of local and national artists. Included with the amazing evening of music is dinner, community and corporate awards, and an evening of socializing. Last year nearly 3,000 music lovers and community supporters came out to the event for the Dimock Center.

The Dimock Center, which the Steppin’ Out event benefits, was originally founded in 1862 as the New England Hospital for Women and Children and is considered a National Historic Landmark. It holds nine acres in Roxbury in order to deliver sincere care for over 46,000 patients and clients in its Health Center alone each year. The Center offers services ranging from health screenings, immunizations, women’s health, HIV/AIDS services and more.

Steppin’ Out provides the Dimock Center with funding that is vital to maintaining the center’s outstanding service.

Ruth Ellen Fitch, President and CEO of the Dimock Center, began work at the center in August of 2004, and was previously practicing law with Palmer & Dodge LLP. There she became the first Black female partner at a large Boston law firm.

Before practicing law, Fitch was Director of the METCO program for the Brookline Public Schools and taught at University of Massachusetts, Boston. She has contributed to the community as serving as a member of the Board of the Boston Public Health Commission, Director of Health Law Advocates and as a Director of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau. Now she continues to provide in the health field at the Dimock Center, whose vision is a healthy community, and whose mission is to “commit to enhance the quality of life of each individual (they) serve”.

The Dimock Center has announced this year’s Honorary Chairs for Steppin’ Out as Governor Deval L. Patrick and First Lady Diane B. Patrick, with the Gala Chair being Clayton H. W. Turnbull (The Waldwin Group, Founder and CEO).

The event will take place November 7 at The Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel.

To purchase tickets online, click here.

“Scott Brown knows that you don�t create jobs by making government bigger, letting spending get out of control and increasing taxes,� said Healey, in a statement. �Scott has been a leader in the never-ending battle to restrain state spending, and that is exactly the kind of leadership we need in Washington right now.�

Healey also said that she worked closely with Brown when she was lieutenant governor under Mitt Romney: �The Massachusetts taxpayer has a great friend in Scott Brown and he was a solid ally in our efforts to balance the budget and create new jobs.�

�I am proud to have the support of Kerry Healey, who is a strong fiscal conservative with a record of opposing taxes and higher spending,� said Brown, responding, in a statement.

Brown (Wrentham) is in his third term as a State Senator.

More than 30 suspect brothels could be raided by police soon as Gov. Don Carcieri signed legislation Tuesday banning prostitution and making it a misdemeanor.

Rhode Island was, until now, the only state except Nevada where prostitution was not a crime. This began in the Ocean State as a loophole in 1980 when legislators passed legislation aimed at cracking down on people who sold sex in “public,” which was a major problem in Providence’s West End. Judges would later rule that the law actually made prostitution legal in private, and the brothels sprung up all over. The effect was that a law aimed at cracking down on the sex trade actually made it proliferate.

But the part’s over now.

The deal, reached with D.A.W. Inc, a subsidiary of Florida-based Nyer Medical Group,

Shares of the penny Nyer stock were up some 200 percent in after hours trading.

Eaton has stores in Dorchester, Brockton, Danvers, Peabody, Salem, Sherborn, Framingham, Southborough, Gloucester, Wellesley, Lynn, Westwood, Weston, Marblehead, Woburn and Newton.

Walgreens promised to keep on most of the Eaton employees.

“Today is a very special day for our Boston market,” said Dave White, Walgreens market vice president for Boston, in a statement yesterday. “Not only are we keeping most of the pharmacies open, but we also intend for eligible employees at all 12 locations to join our team.”

White said Eaton’s long-time customers will see the same familiar faces and level of service with the expanded Walgreens umbrella of products and services.

“We look forward to continuing Eaton’s 100-plus year tradition of quality pharmacy service in communities around the Boston area,” White said.

“I am confident that the best choice for our customers and employees is Walgreens,” said Mark Dumouchel, President of D.A.W and Nyer Medical Group

The acquisition is subject to certain terms and conditions, and is expected to close within the next 90 days, Walgreens said.

Walgreens is the nation’s largest drugstore chain, operating some 7,000 stories in all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The company did $63 billion in sales in fiscal year 2009.

The speech, delivered at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, praised the school’s faculty members and students for their commitment to energy research and achieving new advancements in clean energy technologies. He spoke about his excitement after touring the school’s Energy Initiative program laboratories and the benefits that these new technologies can bring to the world.

“Windows that generate electricity by directing light to solar cells; lightweight high-power batteries that aren’t built but are grown. That was neat stuff. Engineering viruses to create batteries; more efficient lighting systems that rely on nanotechnology; innovative engineering that will make it possible for offshore wind power plants to deliver electricity even when the air is still,” said Obama.

He pointed out that every country has recognized that the world’s energy supplies are growing scarcer and “that’s why the world is now engaged in a peaceful competition to determine the technologies that will power the 21st century. The nation that wins this competition will be the nation that leads the global economy,” he said. “I am convinced of that. And I want America to be that nation. It’s that simple.”

Obama also promoted Ricovery Act Investments that are creating advancements in wind energy as well as creating jobs. He said the Act includes $80 billion to create thousands of jobs for Americans developing new battery technologies for hybrid vehicles, modernizing the electric grid and doubling the country’s capacity to generate renewable electricity.

Susan Hockfield, the president of MIT, said that having Obama speak about renewable energy at the university can motivate more students in getting involved in new energy technology and policy development.

“It’s enormously energizing. The Energy Initiative has become a real centerpiece at activities here at MIT. And having the president here to make a major statement about energy really confirms and amplifies the work that’s already been done on campus,” said Hockfield.

MIT’s Energy Initiative program director Ernest Moniz said that energy research conducted around the country has helped the US be a frontrunner for leading the global economy in clean energy. However, he said there’s still much work to be done.

“United States still has, in my view, the world’s foremost science, technology and innovative system. In the other hand, we cannot be complacent. We can compete as long as we have the resources sustained and commitment from the highest levels, which the president demonstrated today,” explained Moniz.

Obama has been the second president to visit MIT but was the only one who met with faculty members and received a tour of school laboratories. The previous presidential visit was made by Bill Clinton who delivered a Commencement address in 1998.

Video report by Melissa Unger

Blast’s news department is starting up a weekly world news podcast to augment our Terra blog.

Our own Sachin Seth will be narrating the episodes, so don’t miss out!

Instructors are donating their time to hold a 3 hour spinathon and a 2 hour zumbathon, with a suggested donation of $5 per hour per participant for charity.

Zumba is a high energy, latin dance class that can easily be adapted for people with a limited range of motion, and spinning burns the most calories of all our group fitness classes, at an average of 500 calories per class.

Commonwealth Sports Club is also holding a raffle to help raise money for the cause. The staff at CSC and Joint Ventures Physical Therapy have donated their time to offer raffle prizes such as an acupuncture session, personal training packages, pilates packages, and massages. Other prizes include CSC gear, $25 Visa Gift Cards, and a $100 gift certificate to The Kells Bar and Grill, Blast’s perennial party spot, donated by restaurant owner and sports club member Jerry Quinn.

There will also be inspirational artwork sold with part of the proceeds going to breast cancer research.

Be there from 6-9 p.m. tonight, and make your workout for a good cause.

As gamers, we know Albano from his portrayal of Mario on the “Super Mario Bros. Super Show!,” which aired only one season 20 years ago in 1989.

But he was also a noted WWE Wrestling manager, with over 50 clients to his name, and he also appeared in Cyndi Lauper music videos, including “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”, “She Bop”, “Time After Time” and “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough.”

Mr. Albano suffered a heart attack in 2005 and his health dwindled since then. He passed away today at home with his family.

Source: Kotaku

Berwin’s uncle owned two restaurants and a shop there. They were seized along with his World War I veteran’s pension.

“It seemed hopeless,” Berwin said in a statement Monday. “I thought the odds were insurmountable. You have to be clever to outsmart people who want to hold onto money they stole.”

Attorney Dan Holloran, a New York City Council candidate said he didn’t think the situation was so hopeless. Halloran , a partner at the law firm Palmieri and Castiglione, LLP, was determined to help.

“I wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer,” Halloran said. “Glenn has a right to this property. The Nazis never did.”

Halloran is pursuing a legal case to recover money taken from Berwin’s relatives who were killed or imprisoned by the Nazis. He used a federal court decision that accessed the record of World War I pensions.

“If we find specific names and time periods, we can get their pension records,” Halloran said. “Courts have been throwing these cases out. I hope this will open the door for others with these kind of claims.”

Berwin, a retired supermarket employee who lives in Whitestone, Queens said he was friends with Halloran from the neighborhood.

“I knew him from karaoke on Bell Boulevard in the early ‘90s,” Berwin said, laughing. “He’s a great singer.”

According to a statement released by Holloran, Berwin’s father spent two months in Dachau in 1939 before he was granted immigration to the United States. He hopped on the “last boat leaving Holland.” His father was the only survivor on that side of the family. More than 20 members of Berwin’s family were killed in the Holocaust.

“Jewish people should know that they are entitled to pursue their legacy,” said Berwin. “The legacy of my people should be with my family and not with the sons of people who commited crimes against them.”

Dr. Evan Dobelle, president of Westfield State College announced today the list of the “Top 25 Best Neighbor Colleges and Universities” at the 15th annual conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities in Philadelphia.

“It’s regrettable that with almost a trillion dollars in bailout or stimulus money that more of these funds are not being invested in projects sponsored by campus-based civic engagement initiatives,” Dobelle said in a statement. “Projects don’t come much more turn-key than those in the higher education-community alliance sphere.”

New England just isn’t on the list, with the exception of the Rhode Island School of Design is Providence. None of the 50+ colleges or universities in Boston made the list.

The list:
1. University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA
1. University of Southern California – Los Angeles, CA
2. University of Dayton – Dayton, OH
2. University of Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh, PA
5. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis – Indianapolis, IN
6. Creighton University – Omaha, NE
7. Case Western Reserve University – Cleveland, OH
8. Tulane University – New Orleans, LA
9. Portland State University – Portland, OR
10. Drexel University – Philadelphia, PA
11. Virginia Commonwealth University – Richmond, VA
12. University of Louisville – Louisville, KY
13. University of Rochester – Rochester, NY
14. University of Houston – Houston, TX
14. University of Missouri at Kansas City – Kansas City, MO
14. University of Missouri at St. Louis – St. Louis, MO
17. Emory University – Atlanta, GA
18. University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee – Milwaukee, WI
19. Carnegie Mellon University – Pittsburgh, PA
20. Rhode Island School of Design – Providence, RI
21. Miami-Dade College – Miami
22. St. Louis University – St. Louis, MO
23. Rutgers-Newark, State University of New Jersey – Newark, NJ
24. George Washington University – Washington, DC
25. University of Nebraska-Omaha – Omaha, NE

Criteria for assessment in the survey included length of involvement in the community, dollars invested in local efforts, community service, students in local K-12 schools going on to attend the college/university and recognition of positive community impact from those living in the community.

That’s why many retailers are ensuring that they have service quality systems in place to avoid the typical holiday mishaps between shoppers and service staff, according to the American Society for Quality, which provides service quality training for many industries, including retail.

“The top four causes of customer dissatisfaction are out of stock items, discontinued items, returns and shipping charges,” says John Goodman, an ASQ customer service expert. “These are issues that are easily resolvable if sales staff have the right tools and training.”

Bigger stories like Bath & Body Works, for example, provide staff with training to handle these kinds of complaints. Its sales staff takes steps such as maintaining eye contact with customers during every step of the sale. They are also trained in how to detect and respond to unspoken needs and are told to “treat a return like a sale” because a properly handled return will often move the customer to buy something else.

Best Buy is ranked highest in customer satisfaction among national and multi-regional major appliance retailers, according to a new report by J.D. Power and Associates. One key reason is that they make customer service training a priority.

In addition to a rigorous certification process, employees are well-educated on complicated products and solutions, enabling them to better help customers, says Mike Fisher, senior director of Lean Six Sigma for Best Buy’s corporate campus in Richfield, Minn..

The store’s TRUST model ensures that employees thank consumers for coming into the store, respect their opinions, understand their needs, solve challenges together and thank and support the ongoing consumer relationship.

“Our goal is to put more sales staff or ‘blue shirts’ on the sales floor instead of handling paper work and other duties,” Fisher said. “That way they are immediately available to assist consumers with their questions and needs.”

While many retailers will make an extra effort to ensure excellent customer service this holiday season, Goodman suggests that customers take these steps to help ensure a positive sales experience:

• Get to know the sales clerks at your favorite stores. This ensures that you will be in the loop regarding stores sales and events. A salesperson who knows you may also be more apt to help if a problem does arise.
• Research store policies before you buy. Being aware of policies regarding cash refunds or sale merchandise returns can help you avoid problems later on.

So what happens when you run into a problem? Goodman offers these tips for successfully handling service complaints.

• Take three deep breaths — when you are upset you may not think clearly and therefore often don’t present your case logically.
• Tell the company rep that you know that the problem is not their fault – this reduces their defensiveness.
• After outlining the facts, state exactly what you want the rep to do for you – if you don’t they might go off in the wrong direction in developing a response.
• Don’t ask for cash compensation for your time — companies can almost never do that, but they can give you credit toward your bill.
• Never use profanity — most reps are authorized to hang up on you if you do.
• If you have been a long-term customer, point that out but don’t exaggerate — employees can often access your actual purchase history.

The simplest and most important thing you can do is to recognize good service when you receive it by remembering to say thank you.

Courtesy of ARA Content

I thought it was an odd decision. Definitely. Especially given the other nominees which include the Cluster Munition Coalition, a group that strives to clean up cluster bombs and decrease accidental civilian war deaths and Dr. Denis Mukwege, an inspired young Conoglese physician who opened a hospital to treat female victims of sexual abuse.

Inspiring, to say the least. Deserving candidates, no doubt.

And then there’s the victor, Barack Obama, a Harvard law school graduate, community organizer, civil rights lawyer, law professor, junior senator and president of the most “powerful” country in the world. A stunning resume, but where are the accomplishments? The peace work, the advocacy, the results?

That’s what so many are asking. What so many are wondering. And while I, a supporter of Obama, do not think he deserved the award based solely on his accomplishments to date, I do believe the award was given for a reason, and a just, sane reason at that.

Innovative decision to award Obama prize

Now hear me out. Obama won the prize not just for what he has achieved in less than 10 months (which is quite a bit if you look at it with an open mind) but for how he changed the game and reshaped the face of a nation so hated and demonized for so many years. For the potential of peace on a plethora of fronts.

Obama is in the process of sewing together the gaping wound that is America’s international reputation; not an easy feat. It’s something that no other modern Democratic or Republican candidate could do in two terms, let alone a quarter of one.

The fact that the Norway-based committee stressed it made the prize decision based on Obama’s efforts to date was a little strange. I don’t really believe that to be the case, nor does anyone else, even the hardest and strongest Obama supporters. Obama doesn’t believe it either, rightfully so.

Strengthening the international reputation of the most “powerful”nation in the world contributes to peace in many ways. His efforts toward nuclear disarmament are commendable. His decision to end the missile-defense system in Poland led to strengthened ties with Russia, a nuclear powerhouse. His administration has striven for peace with India, another nuclear nation.

His efforts to strengthen relationships and mend ties between Americans and Muslims was politically risky, but so right and groundbreaking morally.

His confusion on Afghanistan is warranted, no one knows what the hell is needed there, and the answer given (”more troops”) isn’t a surprising one. But he’s taking his time and not rushing.

Some view him as the “do-nothing” president or the president of “inaction.” I view him thoughtful and rational, and I’d rather he take weeks to decide the fate of thousands of American soldiers than make a quick decision (like the last guy) and put so many soldiers in harm’s way just because of political pressure from both sides of the spectrum, without thinking it through and weighing the options. That’s called reasoning.

His no-nonsense discussions with Iran, without preconditions, a proposition he was so ridiculed for during his campaign, showed the world he is committed to nuclear disarmament and a more peaceful Mid-East.

His speech in Cairo, though predictable, reaffirmed that idea. His quoting the Qu’ran was a great way to connect with an overwhelmingly large global group so alienated by American ideological extremists.

We elected him for that reason. Because he’s intelligent, thoughtful, peaceful, multi-racial and ambitious. It’s been less than 10 months. How many ambitions are achieved in 10 months? None. But the path to realizing those ambitions has been laid.

Oz

Let me make it a bit clearer by using a crude but wonderfully applicable analogy.

Think of Obama as Dorothy and his path to peace as the yellow brick road. When Obama crash landed in the White House after a whirlwind electoral campaign, he was ambitious, excited and ready to overhaul the system. Soon he realized that that’s not possible, at least not as quick as he thought. There are hundreds, if not thousands of people to please and political and social hurdles to vault.

Just as the Afghanistan war became more brutal and a reassessing of the plan was needed (just as Dorothy tried to find out from the munchkins how she could get back to Kansas), Obama was given hope, something he’d given, in abundance, to millions around the world.

The Peace Prize committee are the munchkins, they are Glinda (the good witch). They gave Obama direction, thanked him for his bravery and pushed him, inspired him (as he inspired us) to continue his work. To keep on going. After all, he doesn’t want to be the guy who won the prize and did nothing to deserve it. And no, he’s not already that guy.

There will be obstacles (the wicked witch, the fake Wizard of Oz) however Obama/Dorothy prevail in the end, defeating the evils that stand in their ways. Yes you can think he was awarded prematurely, but only if you view the award as something given only for hard results. More results will come, the award is faith in that.

In fact, the award was given because he’s changed the world’s mood. He’s made global citizens happier and more tolerant in times of economic uncertainty, global racially charged fear, terrorism and war.

Uninspired criticism

Today I came across an article on the British website timesonline.co.uk written by broadcaster/writer Minette Marrin. She claims, wrongly in my opinion, that Obama should never have accepted the peace prize. That he is undeserving, and she compares his victory to that of Henry Kissenger’s in 1973.

Ms. Marrin, that’s cold. It’s unfortunate that you can’t see past the present day.

Marrin ventures another guess as to why Obama accepted the prize, a very odd one. She ventures that the president accepted the prize just because two fellow Democrats, Al Gore and Jimmy Carter, also boast the prestigious medal in their respective trophy libraries.

As if the award were some piece of trivial memorabilia, some baseball card, that an 11-year-old pines for just because his best buddies have the same one. She then quotes an “American commentator” who said “it is like accepting an Oscar now for being likely to make an Oscar-winning movie next year.” A degradation of the award that is insulting to past winners and childish, to say the least.

Marrin goes on to ask “Can it be that Obama is already intoxicated with the exuberance of his own celebrity? For that is all he is so far — a well-meaning super-celebrity.” Well-meaning? See the second section of this piece.

However there are many who wonder if Obama’s ego has been so inflated that he believes himself the savior of America and the world.

But to those of you who ask that, I ask why is he so “humbled” by the award? Why is it the man, the president, started off his acceptance and justification speech by talking about his two children? Yes, he has speech writers, but only he heard what his kids said that morning. And he remembered.

Yes Obama is a little egotistical, he is, after all, the president. But don’t forget, we gave him that ego (see: road to ‘08 election).

Finally, for those who believe Obama didn’t deserve this prize, you hold a valid view. I too believe Dr. Mukwege or the Cluster Munition Coalition deserve an award of recognition for peace work.

My argument is that Obama’s victory isn’t unwarranted or undeserving. His accomplishments to date are impressive, his future is full of possibilities and the peace prize was awarded to him by a panel “instructed to encourage international co-operation, arms reduction and acts of engagement” for his initiative and to ensure he keeps working towards his, and our, ultimate goal.

Peace.

“My Democratic opponents Martha Coakley and Mike Capuano are having an ongoing debate over who’s more liberal,” Brown says in the video. “Each one is trying to be softer on crime than the other. Unlike both of them, I support the death penalty. Anyone who reads the newspaper or watches the nightly news knows there are some crimes that are so horrific that they shock our conscience.”

Brown sites acts of terrorism, murders with torture, and the killing of law enforcement officials as the types of crimes he feels deserve the death penalty.

“I believe a well-crafted death penalty law that relies on advances in DNA evidence and other forensic science to conclusively prove a defendant’s guilt will deliver the justice that the public demands,” Brown says, “and innocent victims deserve.”

Massachusetts is a non-death penalty state.

As part of the Massachusetts Freedom to Vote Act, the proposed measure would allow a 16 1/2-year-old to pre-register to vote when they apply for a driving permit at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, so that when they turn 18, their registration will automatically kick in.

“This is an easy, no cost, common sense bill,” said State Rep. Ellen Story (D-Amherst), at a press conference before the hearing this week.

Story, who is lead sponsor for the bill, said she has had this proposal on her desk for a couple of years, and believes this is the right time to get it passed.

“The legislature is looking for things to do between now and Nov. 18, when we recess, that are good government bills and that don’t cost money,” Story said after her testimony to the Committee. “This doesn’t cost anything.”

Story said a person under the age of 18 should have the opportunity to pre-register, because young people at that age are starting to form their own opinions, and she said voting at a young age would lead to a lifetime of responsible voters.

“Voting is addictive,” said Story, who said the bill did not make it far last year but has heard no opposition from anyone. “If you start voting, you will never stop.”

In a study by Common Cause, the government watchdog found that only 50 percent of 18-year-olds are registered to vote in the US, and in the 2008 elections only 59 percent of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 24 were registered to vote.

The bill has already been implemented in 10 states around the country, including Connecticut and Maine.

The new bill would not change the voting age to 16, since 18 is the legal age to vote as stated in the US Constitution, but the bill might make it easier for 18-year-olds to vote.

“I’m a junior, and if I could just register to vote now it would make things that much easier because things are going to be hectic with college,” said said Donovan Birch, a junior at Boston Preparatory Charter Public School, who testified to the committee. “The first half of my year will be applying to college, then getting ready for it, then I have to fulfill all my requirement for my senior year.”

Birch, a member of Young Civic Leaders, a program sponsored by MassVote, a voters’ rights organization, designed to build leaders in the community, said this new bill would make it easier because senior year of high school can be a very busy time.

“Even though I’ll be 18, registering to vote isn’t going to be the first thing on my mind.”

Rep. Michael J. Moran, chair of the Election Laws Committee, was impressed by Birch’s testimony.

“We need more kids like you getting active,” said Moran, who jokingly told the group of 10 to 15 high school students that he tried to get them a half-day of school. “I know it can be very boring, but very important stuff goes on in here, and I appreciate you all coming.”

Avi Green, executive director of MassVote, said it was important for the high school students to voice their opinion to the Committee.

“It’s critical,” said Green, who, along with MassVote, sponsored the press conference before the hearing. “Everyone’s always saying ‘This is good for high school students or that is good for high school students or this is good for youth’ but I think youth can speak for themselves.

“I think Donovan was just as impressive as the adults that I heard, and I really hope that bill passes.”

Green is also an advocate for the other major proposed bills in The Mass Freedom to Vote Act. Including, Election Day registration, which would allow voters to register on the day of elections providing they have proof of residence and ID, and early voting, which would give voters a week in advance to vote in case they were not available on Election Day.

No vote was made on the bill, and Green said he hoped the Committee to act sooner rather than later.

We talked to Barracuda Networks, a California-based company best known for its spam and virus firewalls. The company also offers storage, backup and e-mail archiving solutions.

The controversy originated from a Boston Globe request to review e-mails from advisers to Mayor Thomas M. Menino. But city hall could only account for 18 e-mails sent or received in a six month period from Michael J. Kineavy, Menino’s Cabinet chief of policy and planning and one of his closest advisers. City hall acknowledged that Kineavy deletes his e-mails on a daily basis, which circumvents the city’s nightly backup process. The city has said Kineavy’s actions exploited a glitch in the backup process because he both deleted his messages from his inbox and cleared his deleted items folder.

Government officials’ e-mails are a matter of public record.

Kineavy has since taken an unpaid leave of absence. But could this all have been prevented?

After talking with Barracuda and doing some of our own research, it is clear that City Hall addressed the issue of preserving its e-mail messages incorrectly. Boston’s backup process is a poor solution for archiving e-mails, and it runs contrary to accepted best practices.

“Relying on users to save e-mails (i.e. ‘do the right thing’) and not delete e-mails is prone to failure as people can mistakes,” said Barracuda spokeswoman Kylie Heintz.

Having faith in traditional backup systems is not the right answer. Even without the “glitch” that allowed e-mails to be permanently deleted, the City of Boston’s approach to ensuring all e-mails are saved by backing up the e-mail system was not ideal.

–

There is a functional difference between “archiving” and “backing up.”

Archiving is like storing e-mails in a filing cabinet in your office or an alphabetized library card catalog. Backup is like locking them all in a safe deposit box in the bank, behind a time-lock and a password that only the bank manager knows.

Backup systems typically compress all the files and messages into a single file — similar to “zipping” your photos so they take up less room on your hard drive. This creates another problem, because it’s more difficult to search inside these compressed files.

Even if Kineavy hadn’t deleted his e-mails, it still may have been difficult for the city to find, isolate and release his messages.

A backup process is routine, predictable and easy for an end-user to avoid. These processes rely on the end-user’s system. Products like the Barracuda Message Archiver and many of its competitors completely take the end-user out of the equation. An archiver is ideal in these situations, because these products save messages at the server level. Whenever an e-mail is sent or received by the server, the archiver takes it, copies it, saves it and makes a search-able index so that messages can be found later on.

Since public officials’ e-mails need to be saved, it is expected that they will need to be searched through at some point in time — like if a journalist requests copies of them. Backup systems are not designed with archiving in mind. The only way to access e-mails from backup systems is to restore the backup file and then manually search through the results. This is very time consuming, error prone and expensive.

Several cities in Massachusetts use hardware archiving solutions, and Heintz confirmed that some used Barracuda’s Message Archiver. None of the cities would go on the record for Blast, however, given the controversy surrounding e-mail

Boston’s backup script was a good solution for a disaster or system failure, but not necessarily the best solution for a public records request. Archiving is a superior method for public records requests.

“Organizations have needs for both,” according to Aseem Asthana, Message Archiver Product Manager at Barracuda Networks. Backup is vital to organizations. If something happens to an e-mail server, or a natural disaster wipes the server out, a backup can be used to restore all the data present at the time of the backup. But pulling individual files is more difficult. Often, an information technology professional is required to restore individual files from a backup.

An archiver, as opposed to a backup, allows e-mails to be accessed readily and seamlessly.

Menino’s office did not respond to a request to comment on this story.

We acknowledge that Barracuda is a for-profit company. Its Message Archiver starts at $1,999, but it would cost about 10 times that for a model amped up to serve a major city like Boston.

But it would also have saved a few headaches and maybe prevented Boston’s E-mailgate scandal.

John M. Guilfoil of the Blast staff contributed to this report.

Clarification: We changed the sentence “A backup process is routine, predictable and avoidable.” to “A backup process is routine, predictable and easy for an end-user to avoid.”

An example of accelerator pedal interference caused by out-of-position all-weather floor mat. (Media credit/Courtesy of NHTSA)

“This is an urgent matter,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “For everyone’s sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration.”

According to NHTSA, the problem is with the clearance of the actual foot pedal.

Toyota and Lexus vehicles affected by this consumer alert are:

• 2007-2010 Camry
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2004-2009 Prius
• 2005-2010 Tacoma
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2007-2010 ES 350
• 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350

According to NHTSA, in September 2007, Toyota recalled another all-weather floor mat sold for use in some 2007 and 2008 model year Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry vehicles because of similar problems.

For more information, call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s hotline at 888-327-4236 or the Toyota Experience Center at 800-331-4331 or the Lexus Customer Assistance Center at 800-255-3987.

According to George F. Noonan, Emerson College’s police chief and director of public safety, the victim was leaving the movie theater when she was approached by a man in his 30s or 40s, who made her sit on a park bench near a bus stop and then touched her “in an inappropriate and impermissible manner,” Noonan said.

The student escaped without physical injury and immediately went to campus police. The suspect is described as white, with a birthmark on the right side of his bald head. He was wearing a gray suit at the time. Campus and Boston police are investigating.

The president, a former Harvard Extension student, was invited by the university to host an open-ended forum with college students. The protesters represented those disquieted by the possibility of a referendum that would allow Uribe to run for a third term in 2010. Students at Harvard also presented the president with a letter encouraging the president to cede his position in the name of democracy, arguing that a third term would go against the fundamentals of the country’s constitution.

“We believe that such a decision will weaken the rule of law, as well as threatening the separation of powers of the Colombian state,” the students wrote in their letter.

While Uribe did not formally announce his intention to seek a third term, the actions of the legislature clearly suggest that he could follow the growing trend of Latin American leaders amending their Constitutions in order to extend their time in power.

Students tried from every angle to get him to disclose his intentions, but Uribe asserted that what he ultimately seeks is a competent leader for his people. “My own destiny does not depend on me, it depends on the constitutional court, on the people and on my God,” Uribe said. “Of course, I consider that it’s much better for my country to have many leaders committed with the general principles that we are fighting for, but, at the same time, … we have lived (through) many, many years of weak governments.”

Uribe also spoke of how his administration has improved the country on many fronts, including his record on human rights, health care, labor laws and public safety.

“This is the government that has recovered freedom in Colombia,” Uribe said. “During our administration, we have received over 51,000 terrorists members who have demobilized.”

He encouraged people to visit Colombia, ending the forum by saying that “the only risk of going to Colombia is wanting to stay.”

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