EXTRA...

Patrick meets with educators; Fair Plan 25% jump; D'Amour murder case redux; Guc want foreclosure oversight

State higher-education chiefs meet in historic first

BRIDGEWATER — His master plan for public higher education is still six weeks from being unveiled, but Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday gathered all the heads of colleges and universities to let them know that if they work together, he will go to bat for them in the Legislature because they represent the state's future. It was a predictable promise, perhaps, but the meeting itself was extraordinary: No one in the room in Bridgewater State College's Maxwell Library could recall a previous governor convening a summit meeting of this kind.... 

Adm. Richard Gurnon, president of Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Bourne), said "for decades the colleges have been fighting over scraps" when they ought to have a unified voice speaking through a point person in the administration, "a roomwide advocate for public education." 

(UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean F.) Dr. MacCormack said that not only was it the first time a governor has convened a meeting of the whole higher education system in this way, it also was unusual for presidents and chancellors from the entire state to get together, with or without the governor. "I think we'll be doing more of this," she said later, observing that in Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod, regional meetings have been held regularly.

Sen. Robert O'Leary, who represents the Cape and Islands, attended the session and observed that "public higher education has not been a high priority in the Legislature," but that Gov. Patrick can change that. "What we need is leadership from the governor's office."  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.  Leave a comment

Rochcester man cited in accident which killed UC Tech coach

WAREHAM — An 18-year-old Rochester man was cited for vehicular homicide after an accident that left a motorcyclist dead, police said Wednesday.  Bradford Arone of Duhamel Avenue was also cited for failure to yield to oncoming traffic, police Lt. Irving Wallace said.

Joshua D. Garcia, 24, of Marvel Street, Marion, was riding his motorcycle north on County Road at about 4:20 p.m. Monday, police said. At the same time, Mr. Arone was turning left from Wishbone Way onto County Road...  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.  Leave a comment
See accident story here.  

Suzanne D'Amour's ex-lawyer jailed
The Republican - The Suzanne D'Amour saga, already replete with lawyers, guns and money, has expanded in all three areas.   One of her former lawyers, Richard R. Birchall, has been jailed on Cape Cod in lieu of the $3.3 million she says he owes her. Birchall was originally arrested last week after his mother said he was threatening to shoot people.

Birchall, 62, has been in the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne since last Wednesday, when a small army of police arrested him outside his Orleans home following what the Cape Cod Times called a standoff.  Police said they received word from Birchall's elderly mother, Marilyn, who also lives at the house, that she heard him say he had bought a gun and would "shoot anybody who tries to stop me if they come here," according to an account in the newspaper.

On Monday in Orleans District Court, Judge H. Gregory Williams dismissed charges of threatening to commit murder and disorderly conduct against Birchall.   But the judge has kept Birchall in jail while deciding whether to hold him in contempt for not paying D'Amour, who lives in Brewster, nearly $3 million that belongs to her....   Leave a comment

FAIR Plan Bids for 13% Statewide, 25% Cape Rate Hike
The FAIR Plan, which writes property insurance for those who can't obtain it in the private market, has taken on a leading role in providing coverage on Cape Cod and coastal areas as insurers have sought to limit their exposure in these storm-prone areas. It currently insures more than 130,000 homes statewide, including a third of all homeowners on Cape Cod.

The FAIR Plan has proposed overall average rate increase of 13.2 percent for Homeowners Multi-Peril Insurance and 8 percent for Dwelling Fire and Extended Coverage.  Included in the FAIR Plan's proposal is a 25 percent rate increase for homeowners on Cape Cod and in Plymouth and New Bedford and 8.3 percent increase for those in another coastal community, Fall River...  Leave a comment

Patrick seeks crackdown on foreclosure fraud, enhanced oversight
Deval Patrick, reacting to record numbers of people losing their homes, called Wednesday for the criminalization of foreclosure fraud...  Leave a comment

Legislators ask Patrick to reinstate DMR chief
The dismissal of the popular official has sparked a backlash in the Legislature and added to rising tensions between lawmakers and the Democratic governor.  In an unusually tough public rebuttal, the governor's senior staff accused the legislators of trying to "micromanage" Patrick's attempts to build his own executive team and gain control of a state bureaucracy that has been in Republican hands for 16 years.  Leave a comment