BOSTON — Students and parents upset over the impending closure of Mount Ida College in Newton packed a public meeting to voice their frustrations before members of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.
The small private school is closing after this semester and the University of Massachusetts is purchasing its assets. Students in good standing will be offered automatic admission to the University of Massachusetts’ Dartmouth campus. But speakers at Tuesday’s meeting in Boston complained that students in specialized programs are struggling to find places to finish their studies.
The school released a statement saying it is working to place students in programs that will let them complete their chosen majors.
Board members said they were surprised by the announcement of the closure. They questioned the sale but said they cannot block it.
PLYMOUTH — Police say a woman used a knife to injure her 12-year-son before stabbing herself.
Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri says the boy called 911 at about 7 a.m. Wednesday to report that his mother had attacked him and he and his 11-year-old sister were locked in a bedroom.
Responding officers forced their way into the home’s bathroom where they found the 43-year-old mother in a full bathtub suffering from apparently self-inflicted stab wounds to her neck and chest.
The boy was taken to the hospital with a superficial wound to his neck. The girl was unharmed.
The mother was also hospitalized. Botieri says she’s charged with armed assault with intent to murder.
No names were released. Police did not disclose a motive.
WORCESTER — A man has been convicted of manslaughter for the stabbing death 14 years ago of another man during a fight.
Robin Calzado was charged with first-degree murder in the 2004 death in Fitchburg of 31-year-old Frederick Martinez, but was convicted by a jury Tuesday of the lesser charge.
He faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing May 1.
Prosecutors say the 38-year-old Calzado chased Martinez down the street and stabbed him because Martinez owed him money.
Calzado in his own defense testified that Martinez was the aggressor, grabbed a knife Calzado used for fishing, and was stabbed unintentionally during the struggle.
Calzado, formerly of Leominster, was indicted in 2004 but fled to the Dominican Republic where he served an 8-year prison sentence for robbery. He was extradited in 2016.
BEVERLY — A couple’s large solar array, dubbed the Solar Monster by critics, will be allowed to remain, but city officials are weighing rules to prevent others from building anything similar.
Beverly residents who live near the 20-panel pole-mounted array have complained about its size and the noise it makes as it adjusts itself to better catch the sun’s rays. Councilor Don Martin nicknamed it the Solar Monster, after Fenway Park’s Green Monster.
The Salem News reports the city is considering regulations that would put size limits on ground-mounted solar arrays and prevent them from being placed in front yards.
Homeowners Lola and Richard Eanes’ existing array would not be subject to the new rules. The couple compares it to other neighborly nuisances, like loud air conditioning units.
From Associated Press