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WAREHAM -- Local restaurateurs beware: The telephone food order you're taking might end up costing you a bundle.
Wareham police say a man purporting to be a paraplegic has been bilking area restaurants out of thousands of dollars over the last few months.
The scam is simple.
By Patricia O'Connor, Standard-Times staff writer
WAREHAM -- Gary D'Acci is convinced that Tobey Hospital could not have weathered the lean years before its merger with Charlton Memorial and St. Luke's hospitals without the sacrifices made by its union employees. Now, Mr. D'Acci believes it is time for the administration to say thank you.
"What's being forgotten is that, for years, the workers at the hospital have given back to keep this hospital alive," said Mr. D'Acci, co-chairman of Local 767 of the Hospital Workers Union, the labor organization that represents about 200 Tobey employees.
NEW BEDFORD -- Superintendent John Piltzecker began his new assignment yesterday, helping to plan new signs, building renovations and staffing as the Whaling National Historical Park starts to take shape.
The 14-year veteran of the National Park Service just completed a congressional fellowship in Washington and has been named as the new park's first full-time superintendent, taking over for interim Director Richard Rambur, head of the Lowell national park.
BOSTON -- Acting Gov. Paul Cellucci's campaign swing through New Bedford Tuesday served not only as an overture to local Republicans who will decide the party's gubernatorial nomination in April, but also provides a clue to his campaign strategy for the area.
Cellucci swept through the area, hailing regional economic development efforts, unveiling a proposed $250,000 grant to help create jobs, and offering encouraging reports on the future of commuter rail.
FALL RIVER -- Housing Authority Director Richard Viveiros said remarks by Citizens For Citizens Director Mark Sullivan are right on target.
Mr. Viveiros said Mr. Sullivan should be praised for taking on race relations in the city -- a topic he said many people do not want to address.
"I called his house at 7:30 this morning and told his wife to tell him he did a wonderful job," said Mr. Viveiros. "He talked about something which needed to get out but very few people are willing to discuss. It took a lot of guts."
NEW BEDFORD -- School Superintendent Joseph S. Silva Jr. yesterday defended his handling of the Roosevelt Junior High School crisis, saying the department is moving as quickly as possible.
"I have been consistent in saying pending the results of testing, action will be taken. ... At no place or time did I say that the building will be closed," he said in response to parents complaints that nothing was being done.
He also defended the School Committee's decision Monday to conduct further air quality tests, explaining the original tests did not check on mold or bacteria levels.
New Bedford's congressman, Rep. Barney Frank, had a 95.7 percent score.
Freshman Rep. Jim McGovern, earned a 99.2 percent score. He represents Westport, Dartmouth and part of Fall River.
By Judy Mathewson, Ottaway News service
WASHINGTON -- Say what you will about U.S. lawmakers, but don't accuse them of shirking their duty to vote.
Congressional voting attendance sparkled in 1997 as it has for most of the past 20 years. That was pretty true of the Massachusetts delegation as well.
By Mark Merchant, Cape Cod Times
I knew that driving a 547-foot boat wasn't going to be like steering a car.
I thought it would be easier.
I was wrong.
Longitude 31.40 north, Latitude 74.12 west. Somewhere about 250 miles off the central Georgia coast, steering south. Fortunately, the seas were calm.
A child with rosy cheeks is frolicking on ice some 80 feet out on a Watuppa Pond inlet. You are jogging by on the coarse road above when you notice the tiny figure in the red snowsuit against the backdrop of a somber gray-white winter tapestry.
You are suddenly discomfited. You stop. Earlier that morning while having breakfast, you read in The Standard-Times the ice on local ponds was too thin to be trod upon.
FREETOWN -- Bonnie Bearden has taken a whack over the head and turned it into $3,000 and a spot on prime-time television.
Ms. Bearden has been selected for the new America's Funniest Home Videos after getting beaned on the head with a whiffle-ball bat by a well-intentioned 5-year-old. The show, taped in October, airs Monday on Channel 6-WLNE.
FALL RIVER -- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Patricia McGovern says that if the SouthCoast wants bingo it should have it.
Ms. McGovern was in town to solicit endorsements and talk about early childhood education.
FREETOWN -- Several candidates for the annual town election March 2 won't be facing any competition.
Town Clerk Virginia Terry said she doesn't have a clue why some slots available for town offices haven't seen any takers.
"It's too bad," she said. "I can't understand why some of these positions will be vacant."
Dick White
And now, for boys and girls of all ages, we take you on a special visit to: "Sheriff Hodgson's Neighborhood."
"It's a beau-ti-ful day in the Ash Street jail. Will you do time? Could you do time? Won't you be my in-mate?
"Welcome to my neighborhood, boys and girls." (He takes off his urine-stained galoshes and rain slicker and puts on slippers and a sweater.) "Come right in.
"When you were a baby, grown-ups had to do just about everything for you. They had to feed you and dress you and make sure you got everywhere safely without someone sticking a shank in your spleen.
"Spleen -- that's a funny word.
More...
WASHINGTON -- Federal safety officials suspect corrosion makes the anti-lock brakes prone to fail in some 3.6 million sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks built by General Motors in the early 1990s.
Officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have told GM of their findings, although they are not to the point of ordering any action. There has been no public announcement of findings.
WASHINGTON -- Secret R.J. Reynolds memos show the No. 2 cigarette maker targeted teen-agers as young as 13 in a plan to steal its competitors' youngest smokers -- and even created a special brand aimed at boys.
Code-named Project LF, a 1987 memo stamped "RJR Secret" says the company created a "wider-circumference nonmenthol cigarette targeted at young adult male smoker (primarily 13-24-year-old male Marlboro smokers)." Camel Wides eventually were sold.
BOSTON -- Jae Lee, a 20-year-old freshman from South Korea who arrived this year at Boston University, has been learning about international economics the hard way.
Because of the devaluation of the Korean currency, Lee said he must return home at the end of the semester. The allowance from his family has been cut in half, and he was forced to sell his BMW for spending money.
"My friends have already left," said Lee, whose father owns a concrete company. "They went to help their families."
By Frank Fisher, Associated Press writer
AUGUSTA, Maine -- Come springtime, fewer weeping willows will line the streets of this capital. Many of the big oaks that provided shade each summer are gone. And the woods of Vermont have lost thousands of syrup-producing maple trees.
Long after the ice melts and the power comes back on in northern New England -- known for its mouth-watering syrup and colorful fall foliage -- last week's barrage of freezing rain and sleet will leave its mark by way of dead or dying trees.
WASHINGTON -- Growth in retail spending slowed in 1997 to the slackest pace since the recession.
It seems a contradiction when the economy's so robust. But it's not a contradiction. Retail sales -- representing about a third of economic output -- were padded by inflation in past years. Now, inflation for goods is nearly nonexistent and, in many cases, retail prices are falling.
NEW YORK -- NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol defended his decision to pass on the NFL, claiming his competitors made "reckless" deals that could lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
"The NFL is a great sports property, but there is no property we would go after that would lose at least $150 million a year," Ebersol said. "We see this as reckless. We were given an opportunity to match CBS' bid but we made a cold, calculated decision that the losses were intolerable."
Bernie has been a Red Sox season ticket plan holder since the 1970s.
Back then, he and three friends selected a package that included four box seats to 54 weekday games. The seats were in section 19, high behind home plate.
It should be noted that Bernie is not a Red Sox fan. He's a baseball fan in general, a Yankee fan in particular and since Fenway Park is the closest venue to see both, he gladly agreed to share in the cost of the package.
LAKEVILLE -- A huge hometown crowd gathered to watch the undefeated Apponequet boys' basketball team take on a gritty conference opponent, Greater New Bedford Regional Voc-Tech.
The Lakers remained undefeated, but the star of the show was on the other side of the court.
Voc-Tech center Steve Ptaszenski lit up the scoreboard for a game-high 26 points, 15 of them in the first half, to match with six rebounds and five assists.
BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins, the NHL's worst team last season, head into the all-star break with a seven-game unbeaten streak after last night's 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Bruins squandered a 2-0 lead they took 7:25 into the game before Ted Donato broke a 2-2 tie at 5:44 of the third period with his 15th goal of the season.
At least as interesting as what Old Rochester Regional School Committee Chairman Andrew Jeffrey had to say Tuesday was what he didn't say. Parents, teachers, students and other members of the community who still have questions in the wake of the John Shockro rape case are still asking those questions, still without some of the answers that they need if this matter is ever going to be put to rest. Mr. Jeffrey adamantly denied that the ORR School Committee sought to protect the coach who eventually pleaded guilty to 13 counts related to the case. He went out of his way to praise the victims who came forward with their stories, an act of courage that ended a pattern of sexual assault that went back almost 20 years.
More...
I would like to take this opportunity to share my thoughts about the recent articles concerning charter schools.
Superintendents Devine and Gibney accuse charter schools of depleting money from public schools -- or, more accurately, from schools in their districts, should a child residing in their districts choose to attend a charter school. The fact is that charter schools are still public schools, and still publicly funded.
From all indications, a for-profit radiation center is on the horizon for the Greater Fall River community. The introduction of for-profit health care into our midst should not go unnoticed. A facility whose mission is to carve out a profitable segment of the medical market to earn a favorable rate of return for investors has far-reaching implications that deserve to be subjected to public debate.
By Richard Pacheco, Standard-Times correspondent
More than 30 years ago, Gerald P. Dyck had the memorable experience of hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preach.
On Saturday, Mr. Dyck will lead the Greater New Bedford Choral Society in a concert dedicated to the memory of the civil rights leader, as a prelude to Monday's national celebration.
The 7 p.m. concert at Grace Episcopal Church in New Bedford will feature the Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Dona Nobis Pacem" and selected spirituals, including Dr. King's favorite, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."
Joanna McQuillan Weeks
Armchair voyagers can boldly venture onto the bounding main -- without having to wear oilskins -- by attending the 1998 Sailors' Series at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Now in its eighth year, the series of illustrated talks offers a varied view of sailing experiences, from family voyages to solo circumnavigations.
More...
By Lorraine Lucciola, Standard-Times correspondent
For 43 years Al Lewis and Willie Clark were golden on stage. No one else in vaudeville could touch them. Their skits were impeccable, guaranteed to bring the house down every time. Their comedy was radiant. Variety, the weekly bible of show business successes and failures, called them "the sunshine boys." Off-stage, however, they waged a private war -- they couldn't stand each other.
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