Acton

Firefighters get upper hand on brush fires that had threatened homes north of Los Angeles. Firefighters have gotten the upper hand on two brush fires that briefly threatened homes north of Los Angeles and disrupted traffic on heavily traveled Interstate 5.

L ITTLETON - Like a Jewish girl celebrating her bat mitzvah or a soon-to-be-15 Latina planning her ``quincanera,'' 15-year-old Prashanthi Sivasithamparam of Winchester has been anticipating her coming-of-age event - complete with formal dress, huge guest list, family convening from all over the world, and a banquet - for years. On Sunday in the Littleton High School auditorium, Prashanthi performed a two-hour solo as part of her ``arangetram,'' an elaborate event marking her graduation from a decade's worth of training in Indian classical dance. Traditional celebrations of arangetram, which means ``ascending a stage'' in Tamil, her family's native language, are becoming more common in Greater Boston, teachers and other observers say. The rise mirrors the region's growing Indian population; federal estimates put the South Asian community's numbers as 66,000 statewide in 2008, up from 44,000 in 2000. Indian dance instructors and others familiar with the art form estimate that there are n

Throughout her senior year at Boston College, Brynn Merritt worked part time at Entercom Boston, which owns four radio stations, including WEEI and WRKO. She blogged, called businesses to solicit merchandise for WEEI's website, produced ad displays, and sent newsletter e-mail blasts. For all of this, she was paid nothing. ``I did the same amount of work as a lot of people getting paid did,'' says Merritt, 22, who graduated this spring. But she's not complaining; in fact, she feels lucky. ``I learned a ton,'' says Merritt, who got a course credit for the internship. ``I feel I could go into the business right now.'' Unpaid internships have long been offered by nonprofits, but for-profit businesses are increasingly taking advantage of the number of students who, in a tight job market, are willing to forgo a paycheck for practical experience. And there's a new twist on the paid internship - where the intern actually pays for the job via online auctions on websites such as charitybuzz.com.

SeaChange fiscal 1Q profit surges on gains in software revenue. SeaChange International Inc. said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter profit surged on higher sales of software for video-on-demand television services.

Getting cities and towns to shift toward clean energy was such a cornerstone of the state's 2008 energy legislation that the law is named the Green Communities Act. Municipalities that meet five clean energy goals are eligible for millions in local aid under the law. State officials had not expected many communities to qualify right away, because the rules are tough. But Governor Deval Patrick designated 35 cities and towns yesterday as the Commonwealth's first official Green Communities, making them eligible for $8.1 million in grants for local renewable power and energy- efficiency projects. ``These pioneers are notable not only for their commitment to a cleaner, greener Massachusetts, but also for their diversity,'' Patrick said in a statement. Towns and cities had to adopt local zoning bylaws to encourage and speed up permitting for renewable energy projects. They had to agree to purchase only fuel-efficient vehicles for their municipal fleet whenever possible. And the communities

Senate Republicans are preparing to battle this week for controversial budget amendments that would limit illegal immigrants' access to state benefits, just weeks after a similar measure failed narrowly in the House. Republicans say the legislation will save money and reduce waiting lists for high-demand services, such as public housing. Democrats and immigrant advocates counter that the measures attack a problem that does not exist, since illegal immigrants are already ineligible for such services. Debate is expected to start tomorrow, and the senators could vote as early as that day. ``I don't think it's asking for a lot,'' said Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei, the main sponsor of the amendments, who is running for lieutenant governor with gubernatorial candidate Charles D. Baker. ``In a time of limited resources, you can only do so much. We have to do first for the people who are here legally.'' On Friday, the Republicans filed a Senate version of an amendment that nearly pa

The state's highest court yesterday rejected Attorney General Martha Coakley's effort to prosecute a nursing home company for manslaughter because numerous employees allegedly failed to safeguard a 74-year-old resident who died when her wheelchair overturned, sending her tumbling down the home's front steps. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously against Coakley's unprecedented attempt to hold Life Care Centers of America criminally liable for the ``aggregate actions'' of all the employees she said played a role in the failed care of Julia McCauley. The court said Coakley's tactic was ``illogical.'' ``A corporation may be criminally liable for the crimes alleged here only where at least one of its employees could be found individually liable for the crime,'' Justice Judith Cowin wrote for the court. The SJC ruling does not end the criminal case because Coakley may be able to pursue a manslaughter prosecution on a different legal theory - that the actions of a single supervisor ca

Mass. high court says corporations can't be charged with crime if employees don't commit one. Massachusetts' highest court ruled Wednesday that corporations can't face criminal charges in cases where none of their employees committed a crime, calling the theory "illogical."

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Parents looking for the best state school system for their housing dollar should concentrate on the northeast section of the country, particularly Massachusetts, according to a new report.

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo today will unveil a long-awaited bill to license two resort-style casinos in Massachusetts and slot machines at the state's four struggling racetracks, a plan House leaders believe would create as many as 15,000 jobs. Under the bill, which promises to dominate the legislative agenda this spring, the state would collect 25 percent of the revenue from both casinos, which industry officials say could each generate $250 million to $300 million annually, according to one person briefed on the plan, who asked for anonymity to discuss details before today's announcement. The state would also sell licenses to casino developers, which the industry says could generate $75 million to $100 million each to help ease the state's fiscal crisis. Debate on the legislation, expected to begin the week after next, will unfold in a political environment radically different from the one three years ago, when Governor Deval Patrick unsuccessfully pushed his own plan to bring thr

BOSTON - From Acton to Andover, voters packed the polls during last month's special election to replace the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Election officials reported record turnout in a race that resulted in the stunning victory of Republican Scott Brown over Democrat Martha Coakley. But in Chelsea, Lawrence, and New Bedford, cities with sizable Latino populations that have traditionally voted Democratic, turnout was low. Some residents said they didn't know or didn't care that an election was going on, given the lack of signs and campaign visits to their cities. Now, just weeks after the epic defeat by Brown and new concerns about a shrinking base, the Massachusetts Democratic Party is launching an aggressive effort to attract Latino voters, the state's fastest-growing population. On Saturday, the state's Democrats will hold Spanish- language workshops for Latino activists interested in volunteering in campaigns and raising money for candidates. In addition, party officials hope to

Evacuations lifted for hundreds of LA-area foothill homes as mudslide threat recedes. Evacuation orders were lifted for hundreds of foothill homes Wednesday morning as a winter storm that threatened mudslides moved off without causing any serious damage.

Nearly 1 in 10 state residents relied on a food pantry, soup kitchen, or shelter last year, a 23 percent increase over 2006, according to a new survey of food banks in Massachusetts. Feeding America, a network of 200 food banks nationwide, estimated that more than 571,000 state residents relied on food assistance last year. The state's food banks distributed 44.7 million pounds of food last year, a 30 percent increase from 2006, reflecting a spike in demand as unemployment and poverty have surged during the recession. One of those recipients of food assistance is Tom La Masture, 72, who lives with his wife in Lowell and who said they struggle to survive on $2,000 a month they receive from Social Security. La Masture, a retired document checker for an engineering firm, is a diabetic who suffers from a heart ailment. He has been visiting local food pantries for the past two years, since the money ran out from the sale of the couple's home in California. ``We wouldn't be eating if we didn

Nearly 1 in 10 state residents relied on a food pantry, soup kitchen, or shelter last year, a 23 percent increase over 2006, according to a new survey of food banks in Massachusetts. Feeding America, a network of 200 food banks nationwide, estimated that more than 571,000 state residents relied on food assistance last year. The state's food banks distributed 44.7 million pounds of food last year, a 30 percent increase from 2006, reflecting a spike in demand as unemployment and poverty have surged during the recession. One of those recipients of food assistance is Tom La Masture, 72, who lives with his wife in Lowell and who said they struggle to survive on $2,000 a month they receive from Social Security. La Masture, a retired document checker for an engineering firm, is a diabetic who suffers from a heart ailment. He has been visiting local food pantries for the past two years, since the money ran out from the sale of the couple's home in California. ``We wouldn't be eating if we didn

Holiday sales at local merchants dropped 2.6 percent compared with the same period in 2008, the third straight year of declines in Massachusetts, according to a survey released yesterday by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. Results of the 2009 survey of 3,100 business owners were in line with the association's projection of a 3 percent drop for November and December sales. That comes on top of a 7 percent plunge during the same months in 2008. Some businesses, including jewelers and home goods shops, saw a small uptick in Christmas sales, but the recession, coupled with an increase in the state's sales tax, made it another tough year for Massachusetts merchants, according to Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. ``Retailers were more prepared this year with lower inventories and lower expectations,'' Hurst said. ``This year's decline isn't as bad as 2008, but that was really the worst holiday season that the retail sector had seen in a long time.

Living in the cabin he and his sons built in an aspen grove in Cherryfield, Maine, Walter Grallert was considered by some a modern-day Henry David Thoreau. The small, elegant cabin, largely built with materials salvaged from other buildings, had no electricity or plumbing. It had an outhouse. Daylight flooded the large windows discarded by a school, and oil lamps lit the night. He was contemplative and wrote poetry. He was a gentleman, friends said. Walt Grallert was an architect by profession but ``a poet at heart,'' said his Cherryfield friend, Michael Kuhni, himself a poet who spent days sitting with Mr. Grallert by one of the five beaver ponds on the 190 acres of woods Mr. Grallert owned and considered his paradise, his Eden. Kuhni wrote a poem, ``It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This,'' inspired by their long talks by the pond between ``an old coot'' (Mr. Grallert) and ``a ne'er-do-well.'' Mr. Grallert's design and restoration work ranged from hospitals to office buildings to homes.

Her former students boarding at Mary A. Burnham School in Northampton are middle-aged women now, but Miriam Putnam Emerson Peters still referred to them as, ``my girls,'' and they remembered her as their mother in absentia. She pursued her love of education, particularly for women, as associate head and later head of the Burnham School, where she helped mold the lives of generations of young women, not only through the classics and the arts but by teaching them how to cope with life's challenges. In June, many of her ``girls'' came from around the country to share Mrs. Peters's 100th birthday at the Northhampton home she shared with her younger brother, John Endicott Emerson. Many returned some four months later to attend their beloved Mrs. Peters's funeral. She died at home of complications of an infection on Oct. 29. ``Aunt Miriam stayed busy,'' said her nephew, Galo Putnam Emerson Jr. of Danvers. ``She was on a number of community, college, and school boards and volunteered at the l

Her former students boarding at Mary A. Burnham School in Northampton are middle-aged women now, but Miriam Putnam Emerson Peters still referred to them as, ``my girls,'' and they remembered her as their mother in absentia. She pursued her love of education, particularly for women, as associate head and later head of the Burnham School, where she helped mold the lives of generations of young women, not only through the classics and the arts but by teaching them how to cope with life's challenges. In June, many of her ``girls'' came from around the country to share Mrs. Peters's 100th birthday at the Northhampton home she shared with her younger brother, John Endicott Emerson. Many returned some four months later to attend their beloved Mrs. Peters's funeral. She died at home of complications of an infection on Oct. 29. ``Aunt Miriam stayed busy,'' said her nephew, Galo Putnam Emerson Jr. of Danvers. ``She was on a number of community, college, and school boards and volunteered at the l

Donations down, bills overdue, staying afloat is goal at overloaded SoCal basset hound rescue. The basset hounds at Daphneyland aren't the only ones with long, sad faces.

Glimpsing Boston's skyline on foot or from the Red Line as the train climbed the Longfellow Bridge, Thomas N. Brown spied ghosts of history mingling amid the buildings old and new that chronicle the city's march through time. ``When you look up and see the State House, there is a kind of lightness and grace about it,'' Dr. Brown told the Globe in 1988, when he retired from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. ``I know a good deal about the city and its history, and so when I look at these buildings, in some way, I suppose, figures out of the past come together and blend in with just the plain old visual pleasure of the city.'' A historian who took as much pleasure in teaching as he did in adding a sure storytelling voice to the history of the Irish in America, he spent 23 years at the university and previously taught at Notre Dame in Indiana. Dr. Brown, who was comparatively healthy until his last months, despite heart ailments and a recent bout with respiratory troubles, died Fr